FORT KENT, Maine — Hundreds came out the weekend of July 26 for Tour de la Vallee, an annual cycling fundraiser that benefits the Edgar J. Paradis Cancer Fund. This year the event moved to the Lonesome Pine Trails resort, where organizers hosted a new evening event, “A Night of Giving,” that featured a social hour, dinner, live music and a silent auction.
The event raised about $23,000. It saw 44 participants during the tour and sold 115 tickets for the evening event. The tour set a high bar last year when it raised $46,375 and shattered all of its previous fundraising records.
The Edgar J. Paradis Cancer Fund is administered by Northern Maine Medical Center and helps families of cancer patients with travel and lodging expenses when visiting loved ones receiving care at distant facilities. The fund was named after St. John Valley resident Guy Paradis, who felt isolated from his family while receiving erythroleukemia treatment in Portland.
“While we didn’t surpass last year’s fundraising record, this year’s event was still a tremendous success,” Macey Thibodeau, chair of the Tour de la Vallee committee, said. “We introduced exciting new elements, like the ‘A Night of Giving,’ silent auction, and made some important investments in updated materials and participant giveaways to enhance the overall experience.”
Thibodeau said the support of sponsors, participants and donors will ensure that they can continue their mission. Organizers say future events will likely continue to be hosted at the resort.
“The new location was a great change,” Thibodeau said. “We had access to indoor facilities such as bathrooms, the kitchen and a place to sit and eat if the weather was bad,” Thibodeau said. “It was a much larger space to host our events, and I think it worked well.”
The evening event was added to give tour participants a chance to finish their route, go home for a few hours, and then come back for food and music. Organizers said it also gave people who were not able to participate in the tour a chance to support the fund.
The tour also featured children’s activities including a bouncy house, and a “Cycle in Character” ride that took young participants to the local elementary school and encouraged them to dress up.
Nichole Jandreau, director of marketing and communications at NMMC, said that as of June 30 the cancer fund has provided over $1.68 million in support for local cancer patients and their families. It has helped over 1,700 local families.
“We’re proud to celebrate the success of this year’s Tour de la Vallee and deeply grateful to everyone who participated, donated or volunteered,” Jandreau said. “The support helps carry forward the mission of the Edgar J. Pardis Cancer Fund — providing vital assistance to those affected by cancer in our region. We remain steadfast in our commitment to this meaningful cause and look forward to supporting the tour for many years to come.”
