The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
On a typical northern winter day, riders packed their bags and snow machines and dressed warmly as they got set for the Journey For Sight. The group, which left the Victoria Inn last Wednesday morning, had been raising money and gather pledges for a cause they all eagerly support. Andy Wasylciw, a member of the local Lions Club, began the morning with a pledge sheet in hand as he and 24 other riders set out to raise money for the Lions Eye Bank. ÒI started because I like riding on a snow machine and the cause as well,Ó says Wasylciw, who is participating in his fourth Journey For Sight. ÒWho knows, maybe some day IÕll need help myself, with my eyes. I guess itÕs all about helping people.Ó The riders, along with a crew of trucks following roadside, left from the hotel parking lot and made their way to Cranberry Portage for a special ceremony. ÒAll of the students come out and see us and get to see the machines,Ó Wasylciw says, adding that itÕs a tradition every year. From Cranberry Portage, the group made their way down to The Pas before heading to Birtle and then on to Brandon, their final destination of the trip. Throughout the ride, drivers were able to accept pledges from people, but as Wasylciw notes, the majority of pledges are donated a head of time. ÒIt generates about $100,00 throughout the whole ride,Ó he says. ÒAll the money raised goes to the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind).Ó According to the Journey For Sight brochure, support from the run helps to supply Òsight enhancing tools for the visually impaired, funding assistance for the visually impaired and hope for those suffering rom corneal blindness.Ó The program also helps with, Òequipment and assistance for the LionÕs Eye Bank Medical Lab at the Misericordia Health Center and assistance for the administrative and awareness office.Ó The Lions Eye Bank, according to the brochure, is dedicated to helping the visually impaired through itÕs corneal transplant and funding assistance programs. Wasylciw says when it comes to the run, itÕs very well done. ÒEverything is really organized. There are rules to follow, and if you donÕt follow them,Ó he says, you are out. ÒEverybody has to be safe, so there is no night time driving,Ó he says, mentioning just one of the rules. To prevent night time driving, riders have trucks that follow along and drive them to their next check point if they donÕt make it there before it gets too dark. And while riders can be as young as 18 years old, Wasylciw says in the past there was one local rider at the other end of the age spectrum Ð he was over 80 years old. Although the rider didnÕt participate this year, Wasylciw says, heÕs done it many times before. Once this yearÕs riders arrive in Brandon, a tea and lunch is served, which gives them time to see where their pledges are going. ÒThey interview people who have had the surgeries,Ó he says, reiterating that ÒitÕs a good cause and itÕs all about helping people.Ó On the run, he says, there are a wide variety of people out there, but they are all there for the reason. ÒTo help people,Ó he says.
