Calgary group skydives to raise funds for child cancer care

Published Sep 17, 2020 • 1 minute read

Skydivers help raise funds and awareness for children with cancer. Calgary realtor Brian van Vliet and nine others took fundraising and awareness to new heights for children with cancer when they complete a tandem jump from 13,000 feet at Alberta Skydive Central (Innisfail Airport Hwy, AB-54, Red Deer County, Alberta). Photo by Gibbs Photography

Ten Calgarians took a leap for charity Thursday when they jumped out of a plane at 13,000 feet to raise money to support Kids Cancer Care.

The tandem skydiving stunt near Innisfail had raised more than $6,400 toward a $20,000 goal by Thursday evening.

The jump was spearheaded by Calgary realtor Brian van Vliet, who was inspired to raise funds after one of his clients, Theresa Llewellyn, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2019. Llewellyn is continuing her fight against cancer, with hundreds of rounds of chemotherapy expected to be completed by November.

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Skydivers help raise funds and awareness for children with cancer. Calgary realtor Brian van Vliet was inspired by his client Therese Llewellyn (both front), who is fighting breast cancer. Photo by Gibbs Photography

“The combination of Kids Cancer Care’s extraordinary programs and Theresa’s valiant battle with cancer inspired me to do more than just make an annual charitable donation,” said van Vliet.

“I decided to organize a unique fundraising event and, with Theresa’s blessing, publicly announce that she, along with the desire to help children with cancer, are my inspiration for this event.”

Funds raised from the event will go toward therapeutic, recreational and educational programs offered by Kids Cancer Care. It’s a boost that’s much appreciated during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kids Cancer Care founder and CEO Christine McIver.

“Kids Cancer Care is so grateful to Brian and Theresa for their tremendous effort in organizing this event,” McIver said in a news release. “Fundraising is tough right now because everyone is hurting. I applaud them for taking action — especially in these challenging times.”

Van Vliet is keeping his website open for donations for the next 30 days. Donations can be made through jumpforacure.com.

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