About Run For Their Lives Vancouver Island 2013

While most recent university graduates are planning their next move, job hunting, vacationing or just taking some well deserved time off, one recent grad is planning to run 495km in the name of charity and fitness awareness. Yana Hempler successfully finished the Bachelor of Commerce program at the University of Victoria and her personal training certification. She is now planning her biggest challenge yet.

The “Run for their lives”, an ultra marathon that will traverse the length of beautiful Vancouver Island, is a test of endurance for Yana that she is eager to accomplish. Starting in Port Hardy and finishing in Victoria, she is accomplishing this in order to raise funds and awareness for three well deserving charities that are always in need of a hand up to continue their much needed services: The BC SPCA, The Mustard Seed Food Bank and RIV Victoria.

This compassionate journey will begin on June 2^nd and take approximately 3 weeks to complete. Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for these charities while also increasing their public presence so that they will be more likely to receive more donations for their work in the future, when it will, most likely, be even more in demand. Public awareness is always a key because when people understand what each organization does, they are more inclined to get on board with them.

Yana’s passion for fundraising and community service started back in junior high school. She raised thousands of dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation, Heart & Stroke Foundation and World Vision. Additionally, she volunteered at the local food bank when she was in high school. Yana also spent the summer after her second year of university volunteering at Our Place Society, rather than taking on a co-op work term. 

Working behind the scenes is the other team member and longtime supporter, Ian Simpson. Ian is the main driver, photographer and co-coordinator of the run. Owner of Aardvark Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning and IMS FotoGrafix, his passion for helping those in need, either human or animal is what drove him to put this event together with Yana. 5% of the total revenues from his businesses are helping to fund this run and he is confident they will achieve their goals.

Please find it in your heart to be involved as a sponsor, corporate or privately, donate to the organizations or be an active supporter through spreading the word about this event. It all helps to improve the quality of life for those who are in need and may be living in pain, scared, hungry all the time, require medical care or in need of specialized equipment to be involved in their desired sport. 

Thank you for your generosity !