Cycles of life
Goodwill on wheels take a pass directly through a Mississauga restaurant this month, when local resident Carrie Grinter pedals in pursuit of her goal of raising $20,000 for cancer research in this year’s Ride with Lance event.
Grinter was casting about for a way to support two of her best friends who recently lost their dad to a rare form of the disease, and was thrilled to discover this opportunity to ride with the world’s most famous cyclist, Lance Armstrong.
The 130-km. ride, hosted by the seven-time Tour de France winner, will take place in the Kitchener area (specifics are still hush-hush) on August 28. Grinter and 49 other cyclists will look to raise funds for the cancer centre at the Grand River Hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo, and for patient care for those living with cancer in Ontario.
And this former restaurant employee will get a shot in the inner tube thanks to the Mississauga East Side Mario’s restaurant, on Argentia Rd. at Winston Churchill Blvd., where she and the girls who lost their dad once worked. On August 19, the restaurant has pledged to donate 10% of the day’s proceeds to this cause. More than that, it will host a silent auction and raffles throughout the evening.
“Research costs money and we as individuals can only do so much,” says owner Jon Wu. “I’ve known Carrie for a long time, and I can tell you that she’s a go-getter. When she gets an idea in her head, there’s nothing that stops her from doing it.”