Yogapalooza continues to raise funds for childhood cancer research

Cancer is as terrible a diagnosis as anyone can receive.

 

However, it’s never as bad as when the patient is a child.

 

Then, it’s intolerable.

 

That’s why local yoga legends Randy Roffey and Steve Neville created and organized Yogapalooza, an annual 24-hour marathon of yoga to raise money for childhood cancer research.

 

In an artful setting of the Ottawa Art Gallery, organizers hope that 250 participants will sustain their yogic energy in two 12-hour sessions Sept. 30-Oct 1, and in doing so, raise $75,000 for CHEO and The Children’s Oncology Group’s research into children’s cancer. But there’s always room for more.

“The sky’s the limit,” he told The Sam Laprade Show.

 

Co-founded by Roffey and Neville in 2018, Yogapalooza has raised more than $260,000 locally for cancer research. Almost 100% of funds raised goes directly to CHEO.

 

It’s a heart-wrenching thing to watch a child go through cancer. More than 10,000 children across Canada are fighting cancer. One in five will not survive. Last year, some 90 kids were diagnosed with the C-word alone, with 500 currently in treatment at CHEO.

 

“It’s an important cause that’s dear to our hearts,” said Roffey. “You think you’re doing something to help someone else but there’s an incredibly warm feeling you get when you take action to help someone else. It’s a special experience.”

 

Yogapalooza is Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at the Ottawa Art Gallery at 10 Daly Ave. If you’re interested in participating, or sponsoring a participant, register on the event website www.24hryogapalooza.ca