Trick or treat! Hi everyone! That sure is a nice trick Mother Nature is playing on us...giving us summer well into October. It sure is a treat! I trust you are enjoying the fabulous fall colours and the wonderful weather.

Not to state the obvious, but with the start of October comes the end of September...This year, Candlelighters once again had a host of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month activities and I'm so pleased to share our successes with you.

Scotiabank branches in the west end of Ottawa and up the valley once again held the "Light a Candle for Hope" campaign, featuring the beautiful bookmarks created through the Smiling Siblings WaterColour Workshops and donations were raised at the teller wickets from September 12 - 30^th.  I am so happy to say $10,026 was raised in support of Candlelighters,  we send out a HUGE thank you to all our friends at Scotiabank, and a special thank you to Graham West and Julie Frey for their unwavering support over the years! Thank you to all who contributed!

I saw a slew of Gold Ribbon Pins around town, thank you to everyone who helped distribute and wear the pins including the Redmond/Jolicouer, Fraser, Harkin/Elder, Lariviere, Fast, Simon/Khalife families and a special thanks to Joy Atkinson. I can't begin to tell you how much awareness they create. I am so proud to wear mine!

Deputy Mayor Steve Desroches was wearing a Gold Ribbon Pin when he proclaimed Thursday September 15^th Childhood Cancer Awareness Day in the City of Ottawa. As part of the day's festivities, Candlelighters partnered with CTCACF and hosted an Inside Ride event on the grass at Ottawa City Hall. It was such a high energy, fun filled event. You really should check out The Inside Ride on-line and have a look at our event. Teams included the Spin Sisters (who took home Top Fundraising Team - part of the amazing, amazing $15, 276 raised by generous pledgers), Tiaras on Trikes, who won Best Costume, narrowly edging past New York Frycycles ( who had real french fries on their hats) as well as "Belles" of Hope and the West End Wheelers. Special thanks Ottawa City Councillors' Katherine Hobbs (Kitchissippi Kickers) and Keith Egli (Ward 9 Pedal Pushers) who also participated and brought teams to participate in the fun. We were thrilled to have Max Keeping as our guest Master Of Ceremonies as well as our Ambassador family Josh McKenny, his mom Fiona, who spoke eloquently (thank you Fiona!) as well as dad James and sister Piper. It truly was a spectacular event, the whole Inside Ride Team were fabulous (especially Cappy driving the 18 wheeler through Ottawa's many construction zones....eekkk!) To the many volunteers who came and helped out - Bec, Will, Paul, Sam, Susan, Katie, Alexander, Tom, Patrick, Lynn, Manfred, Natalie, Bradley, Pam, Chantal and Jessica ~Thank you. We couldn't have done it without you.  

Jocelyn and Dale Gagnon.

"Where there's Light, there's Hope", Candlelighters' 2^nd Annual Fundraising Dinner, was held just the night before, on Wednesday September 14^th. Heartfelt thanks to Dale Gagnon for bringing so many guests to join us at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Josée Franche worked some magic in lighting up the room with candles and beautiful flower arrangements, thank you Josée, and jazz musician Lucas Haneman for adding that special touch. Denis Smith and his table of guests and their forks were a welcome special touch as well. It was a real pleasure seeing some familiar faces, and meeting some new folks. Our deepest appreciation goes to Kim Carswell. She gave a remarkable and heartfelt keynote address, giving our guests a very personal and insightful perspective of childhood cancer and the many challenges families endure. Thank you to all who contributed to evening's success - almost $25,000 in net proceeds from the evening will support the ongoing provision of Candlelighters programs and services.

The National Day of Action and Awareness for Childhood Cancer, held in Toronto on Friday September 16^th saw the CN Tower lit up in Gold at 8 pm. Prior to that, there was a wonderful event at MTO Park, where the hard work of our good friend Marianne from ChildCan and her crew of volunteers was so evident. The Inside Ride at Dundas Square featured the arrival of the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation's national riders, escorted by the RCMP in their full red uniforms.

Alterna Bank held their 7^th Annual Golf Classic on Wednesday September 28^th. It was the perfect day on the course - a little bit of rain (okay, a lot of rain) just after the t-off made the afternoon sunshine all the more sweet. The cheque of $30,000 presented at the end of the dinner was like the icing on the cake. A big thank you to Michael O'Byrne, who not only was an amazing MC, but also represented Candlelighters Board of Directors and joined me in accepting the BIG cheque. Did I mention it was a perfect day? And a perfect way to bring a close to our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month activities. Thanks to Pierre Berthelot, who so passionately brought Candlelighters forward for consideration of the committee as a worthy cause for the proceeds of the day's event. The organizing committee did an amazing job and it was a real pleasure to be part of it. Did I mention it was a perfect day? 

I know many of our members are getting excited about the upcoming annual Christmas Party. The plans are under way, so stay tuned for details about date and location.  

It is our distinct privilege to families in "Suite Seats" once again this season. I will look forward to seeing many families in the suite at Scotiabank Place for both Ottawa Senators Hockey games and other exciting events and concerts. Our sincere thanks to Bayshore Shopping Centre who have made this initiative possible this year.  

Many of you will recall the Membership Survey you completed last year at around this time. Based on the feedback we received then, we are trying to coordinate a "Couples Workshop", providing parents with coping mechanisms and some additional tools and strategies for dealing with the challenges parenting a child with cancer places on the family as a whole, and on couples. If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please contact Tamsin at the office for further information. The date is yet to be confirmed as we are trying to accommodate as many participants as possible in selecting a time that is convenient, be it during the week or on a Saturday.

Smiling Siblings has started back. The first watercolour workshop was held on September 24^th and facilitator Jennifer Nicol says things went extremely well, with the group bringing home wonderful artwork reflective of the season. Upcoming dates are October 22, November 19 and December 17^th.   Please contact Tamsin at the office to ensure your child(ren) are registered to attend. Note: there is no cost to participate.

Our friends at Wall Space Gallery are once again hosting a jewellery event in November. New this year, Trish is having a fashion show as part of the event. This new element will be very exciting and certainly make for a wonderful evening. Please watch for details at www.candlelighters.net

Did you know that you can follow Candlelighters on Twitter? And become our friend on Facebook!

I will look forward to connecting with you again soon, and don't forget to check for updates on our coming activities at candlelighters.net

Tori Carswell

The 8th AnnualToriCarswell Memorial Golf Tournament was held on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 at the Canadian Golf and Country Club. All proceeds from the day were donated to Tori's Helping Hand, part of Candlelighters' Patient Amenities Program. This program provides funds to palliative care oncology children and their families, as well as to families whose children require a transplant.  

It was an enjoyable day for all. The weather was perfect and so was the event. $35,117.00 was raised which brought the funds raised to date to over $300,000. Thanks to the golfers, sponsors and the volunteers who made this such a big success.

The evening was MC'd by Michael O'Byrne. Thank you Michael!  There was a wonderful and heartfelt speech by Liliane Hajjar. Liliane knows first hand how Candlelighters and Tori's Helping Hand can help a family in need.

My name is John Leslie I am eighteen years old and currently attending Algonquin College and working weekends at Arnprior Home Hardware. My story begins at the age of ten when I was diagnosed with bone cancer...

It was a typical day in the spring of 2003, I was excited at the prospects of signing up for soccer, riding my bike, playing street hockey with my friends and training for next year's hockey season.   If I could do it all in one day I considered it a good day! My mom noticed a small lump on my left leg...just below my knee cap and towards the inside of my leg. From my perspective I thought it seemed perfectly at home with the scrape on my right knee, and the bruise on my left arm...bruises and scrapes are cool! My mom decided we should have it checked so off to the doctor I went. Luckily the x-ray did not take too long and within no time at all I was back home calling my friends to come join me for a game of street hockey. The next thing I knew I was back at the doctor with my family receiving the most unbelievable news.   The days, weeks and months that followed proved to be some of the most challenging of my life. I spent my Grade Six year enduring chemotherapy treatments and recovering from the amputation of my left leg. As soon my treatment finished I was determined to walk again. Once that goal was met I moved on and taught myself to snowboard and skate for the second time... this time it was with my new artificial leg. With a lot of hard work and determination I was back playing hockey...what a thrill.

At the start of high school I landed my first job...Arnprior Home Hardware! This was great because I saw it an opportunity to learn so much about things we use in everyday life...I never realized how interesting plumbing could actually be. Over the past four years Home Hardware has become an important aspect of my life, not just from a learning point of view but also from a people point of view... I really enjoy my job and the people I work with.

My commitment to work meant making some tough decisions; it was becoming more and more challenging to balance my work schedule and my hockey schedule. This is when I turned my attention toward snowboarding because it afforded me the flexibility I needed. I was able to put together a schedule that would allow me to snowboard and work. My boss supported my passion for snowboarding and we worked together to come up with a work schedule that would allow me the time to attend snowboard practice and competitions and fulfill my work commitment. My desire to snowboard continued to be support throughout High School.

This year, my last year at Arnprior District High School, the Snowboard team hired a new snowboard coach. When the coach saw me practice she thought I was a good rider and saw potential in me to become a snowboard coach. When she discovered I was a left leg amputee she was inspired to connect me with the Para-snowboard program in Canada. I was stunned to learn of her interest in my riding ability and thrilled at the prospects of being a part of the Para-snowboard program. This was such big news for me.

In April of this year, I was invited to participate in a Para-Snowboard World Cup boarder cross event in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. To say I was excited is an understatement!

My trip to Lake Louise was a trip of a lifetime! I met people from around the world who were, not only like minded but also "like bodied", what a thrill. I had a lot to learn as "boarder cross" snowboarding was a new event for me. I had experience competing in snowboard races and I had experience riding rails and jumps in a snowboard park, this event is a combination of both. It involves riding through a downhill course as fast as possible all the while hitting different jumps and features. I was on top of the world when I learned I placed first for Canada and 5^th in the world.

After returning home from Lake Louise I was contacted by the national team coach inviting me to Whistler to participate in the National Team try outs at the end of June 2011. Becoming a member of the national team would mean I would be registered as a national athlete and would be required to start training on professional courses and working with the National Team coaches both on and off the snow! I can't wait for the snow to come!

John Leslie