A group of motorcycle riders hit the highway Friday to travel from Edmonton to Calgary to raise awareness and money for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
The effort is the brainchild of Ryland Strauss, whose brother Jayden died aged 18 in 2017 from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that starts in children’s soft muscle tissue.
Jayden Strauss’s wish – to design his own Nike shoe line – was granted by Make-A-Wish as its milestone 25,000th wish. In fact, the charity went beyond his desires, expanding the idea into a clothing line called King Jay. All the proceeds from King Jay go back to Make-A-Wish.
Ryland Strauss said he was inspired by his own recent trip to Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital to organize the ride, which as of this morning has raised $11,500, exceeding its goal of $10,000.
Strauss said he wanted to do something more for Make-A-Wish and for sick children and their families, “to build off Jay’s legacy, try to continue to do good.”
“You want to raise as much money as possible, because the average cost of a wish is $10,000,” he said “(We want) to help out Make-A-Wish and help out those families, not only for the kids themselves that are battling but the families as well, and also to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish as a whole and kids fighting those life-threatening illnesses.”
Strauss and his fellow riders stopped at the Stollery on their way out of town before arriving at Calgary’s Alberta Children’s Hospital around noon.
“One of the last things I told him was ‘I got you,’” said Strauss. “I’m going to keep pushing on and doing those big things for him, the things that he was unable to do … trying to continue to do the good that he was doing while he was here.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Matt Marshall