Terry Ames Care Fund car raffle is back in Sudbury
After a four-year battle with cancer, local Sudburian Terry Ames teamed up with the Northern Cancer Foundation to create an initiative to help support families fighting cancer.
July 20 marks 10 years since Terry Ames beat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and he continues to give back the Northern Cancer Foundation where he received treatment.
“I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I was sitting in my doctor's office and was told the cancer is gone. I remember calling my wife and sharing the news and all the emotions and how that felt,” said Ames.
In 2012 Ames created an initiative called Terry Ames Care Fund. It’s a charity aimed at supporting families who are fighting cancer.
“One of the big things we wanted to do was offer financial support so the fund was set up to provide people with ways to help pay their bills while going through cancer and we saw a need for people who needed support,” said Ames.
“When I talk to people who are going through cancer, I always say, 'picture your moment, picture that moment when you’re calling family and saying the cancer is gone,' and I say visualize that moment and that will help with your battle against cancer.”
The Northern Cancer Foundation said COVID-19 has been tough on patients.
“We’ve seen a huge uptake in use of the fund in the last six months to a year that patients are out of work, they don’t have the support, and they have to travel further,” said Tannys Laughren, executive director of the Northern Cancer Foundation.
"It’s causing a bit more of a financial burden."
Ames and the foundation hold a raffle event every two years and this year, there is a new Cadillac up for grabs.
Laughren said every dollar raised from the draw goes to the Terry Ames Care Fund.
“Whether it’s to help with their mortgage, whether it’s to help with dental work that’s not covered by OHIP, whether it’s to purchase medication, we make sure our patients have support,” she said.
Laughren said close to $500,000 has been raised over the years and more than 300 families have been supported through the initiative.
This year's tickets are only being sold online and the winner's name will be announced on Oct. 2.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.