Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) Mission 2020, held from February 2 to February 7, raised over $98,000, with just under $32,000 going towards research at the Canadian Cancer Society and the remainder for the purchasing of equipment at Saskatchewan Cancer Clinics. For the second consecutive year, Kim Hladun of Canora was one of the core riders.
鈥淧rior to this year, PWOS has raised more than $2.5 million towards Cancer Research,鈥� said Hladun. 鈥淚n addition, since 2013 more than $370,000 has been raised for the equipment at the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan. These totals do not include this year鈥檚 money raised.鈥�
PWOS is a non-profit organization whose annual missions are provincial awareness events designed to focus attention on breast cancer and the recreation of snowmobiling as well as raise much-needed funds for breast cancer research.
Mission 2020 was the 20th annual event, with a scheduled route covering approximately 1,400 kilometres:
- February 2: Humboldt, Bruno, Prud鈥橦omme, Yellow Creek and Star City
- February 3: Ridgedale, Tisdale, Porcupine Plain and Weekes
- February 4: Greenwater Provincial Park, Kelvington, Wadena and Wynyard
- February 5: Punnichy, Cupar, Craven and Moose Jaw
- February 6: Marquis, Eyebrow, Elbow and Outlook
- February 7: Hanley, Allan, Aberdeen and Martensville.
Hladun said she felt significantly less uncertainty prior to the start of her second PWOS Mission.
鈥淗eading into Mission 2020 I knew what to expect when we entered the venues,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are treated as heroes, when we are only doing what we set out to do, spread awareness for early detection of breast cancer as well as promote safe snowmobiling. Without the endless hours of great organizing work that the executive do to make everything run smoothly and the support of the local communities these missions would not be a success.鈥澨�
Hladun said the kickoff banquet in Humboldt and the finale in Martensville were truly memorable events.
鈥淎nyone in the crowd could light a candle for someone they鈥檝e lost or for those still fighting their battles. This was then followed by a minute of silence.鈥�
The kickoff banquet included representation from almost every year of the 20-year event.
鈥淕len Scrimshaw, artist, unveiled his second print that he has created for PWOS called Mission of Hope which is a beautiful print depicting the scenery we see on our daily rides across Saskatchewan,鈥� said Hladun. 鈥淧art of the proceeds from each print sold is donated to PWOS. Visit his website to check it out at glenscrimshaw.com. The first day really enforced why we do what we do when a cancer survivor felt that she needed to come in and meet us at out lunch stop to share her story.鈥�
Hladun said the first day of the ride was probably the stiffest weather challenge of the whole week.
鈥淪unday morning was a bit cool and very windy,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭he wind seemed to increase as the day went on but, as we are riding, we remember that cancer patients don鈥檛 get a break from treatment due to cold weather or 小蓝视频 tired, so we ride on for them. The rest of the week was warmer and very manageable.鈥�
Since the route took the riders across a large portion of Saskatchewan, it wasn鈥檛 surprising that the snow conditions varied considerably.
鈥淭he snow wasn鈥檛 bad until we got to Cupar on Day 4 where we had to load up out sleds,鈥� said Hladun. 鈥淭hey rode on the trailer all of Day 5 and then got unloaded at our lunch stop in Allan so that we could ride in to our final destination in Martensville. Our ride through Tisdale, Porcupine Plain, Weekes and Greenwater Provincial Park had some awesome snow conditions and well-groomed trails.鈥澨�
Hladun said that there was a lot of fun had throughout the week.
鈥淪ome of the highlights from the week were the fireworks set off by the family of one of the core riders as we drove by the turn-off to her farm as well as the fireworks as we rode in to Martensville to end Mission 2020,鈥� said Hladun. 鈥淭hose fireworks were set off by our fabulous pit crew and brought tears to our eyes.鈥�
Some of the most difficult times were seeing the effects of cancer first-hand.听
鈥淭he tough part about the week was seeing a young girl who is a cancer survivor, talking to people who were newly diagnosed, as well as hearing that someone we met along the way last year is losing her battle,鈥� said Hladun.听听
She said the difficult experiences are often the ones that also make the effort worthwhile.
鈥淵ou hear the survivors share their stories and they give you a bear hug of gratitude for what we, the riders, and Prairie Women on Snowmobiles do,鈥� Hladun shared.
鈥淭his year I also checked another thing off my bucket list by donating a comfort quilt to Prairie Women on Snowmobiles. These quilts are loaned out to people who are on their cancer journeys Along with the quilt, a journal is sent and anyone who has used the quilt may share their story and write words of encouragement.听
Hladun said she highly recommends the core rider experience to other snowmobile enthusiasts.
鈥淎nyone who loves snowmobiling and would like to help promote early detection of breast cancer should definitely get their application in,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are no words to describe how these missions change your life!鈥�
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