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UPDATE: Campout for Cancer 2.0 raises over $2,000 for Terrace Relay for Life

CJFW’s Mike Nagle spent 30 hours inside a makeshift shed on the Bell Media catwalk over the weekend
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Mike Nagle, CJFW’s morning radio show host, looks down at Lazelle Avenue on April 20 as he prepares to start his 30-hour campout initiative to raise money for the Terrace Relay for Life event on May 26. (Brittany Gervais photo)

A campout on the catwalk outside of the Bell Media building on Lazelle Avenue raised more than $2,000 for Terrace Relay for Life over two days.

Chilly temperatures and light rain didn’t dampen the spirits of CJFW morning radio host Mike Nagle, who spent 30 hours in a makeshift shed dubbed the ‘Rain Coast Wash and Lube Campin’ Shack’ over the weekend.

“It really felt like camping,” Nagle said over the phone after the fundraiser ended. “I could hear the rain hitting the tarp on the roof, but the shed and electric furnace made all the difference in the world.”

He said one of the highlights from the fundraiser was an anonymous donation from a woman who came for a breakfast served by the Salvation Army on Saturday morning.

Nagle was handing out plates of eggs and bacon when a woman dropped by after a long shift at work. She bought two full breakfasts with a $40 donation originally, but then came back 10 minutes later with an additional $200 donation.

“She wouldn’t even tell me her name, she just gave some money,” he said. “It really shows how much generosity is in this community.”

As someone who has been involved for the past eight years with the relay in Terrace, Nagle said he hopes to raise as much awareness and money as possible to give back to the Canadian Cancer Society and Relay for Life team to help support their event on May 26.

READ MORE: Relay for Life a go for spring

Nagle’s fundraising started just one month ago with a campout at the Skeena Mall, where his indoor tent and campfire sing-a-long raised $1,500 for the relay. After Nagle spoke with Mel Kemmis, the radio station’s general manager, they decided to give the fundraiser another go and created this weekend’s ‘campout 2.0’ to raise more money.

The eight-foot by 16-foot outdoor structure, complete with three walls and a sloped roof, was constructed by Milt Lindsay, owner of Rain Coast Wash and Lube. The structure was ready within a week and delivered to the station with a crane on Monday.

“I was telling [Lindsay] what I was doing, and he looked at me and said, ‘I can do that. I’ll build you a platform,’” said Nagle. He also received an electric heater, half of a toilet bowl, and brought several sleeping bags and lawn chairs to keep comfortable during the campout.

Lindsay, who has been in remission from cancer since 2005, said he was eager to lend his construction skills after hearing about Nagle’s fundraiser a few weeks ago.

“I was ready to step right in,” Lindsay said as he finished setting up tables beneath the catwalk on Friday. “It just takes one person to get the ball rolling, and then the community steps up to help each other out.”

The Terrace Relay for Life’s goal is $55,000 this year, which is the same amount raised last year. Currently, over $20,000 has been raised for the event on May 26 at the George Little Park.

READ MORE: Relay for Life raises more than $100,000

Helen Owen, manager of annual giving at the Canadian Cancer Society, said there has been a decline in participation with the relay over the last few years but is impressed with the way the city has banded together to try and close the gap.

“There’s a lot of support in this community and I think it’s going to be a wonderful event,” she said, adding the campout was a “brilliant idea.”

There are currently 55 people on 10 teams for the relay but Owen hopes the number will grow closer to 100 as the relay on May 26 draws closer.

For more event details and registration, visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Terrace page online.


 


brittany@terracestandard.com

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Mike Nagle sits back in a camping chair he brought with him on April 20 to help keep him cozy during the 30-hour fundraiser for Terrace Relay for Life this weekend. (Brittany Gervais photo)