Law Enforcement Torch Run donates $44K to Special Olympics Canada Winter Games Thunder Bay 2020
Organizers 'thank everyone who has worked so hard to help make our athletes' sports dreams come true'
The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games Thunder Bay 2020 are scheduled to start February 25 and donations for the weeklong event continue to roll in.
Organizers with the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) announced a $44,250 donation to Special Olympics Canada on Tuesday. The organization has supported the Games since 1981 and continues to work with the Special Olympics in northwestern Ontario.
"Beyond this incredibly generous contribution, local law enforcement is well represented among our volunteer roster for the Games and has been an important partner from the start of our planning," said Games Chair Barry Streib. "We thank everyone who has worked so hard to help make our athletes' sports dreams come true."
Bond with Special Olympics 'alive and well'
The funds were raised by the local zone of the torch run through a variety of events hosted in communities across northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Kenora and Dryden.
Tara Bottan, local zone coordinator with LETR, said the bond between law enforcement and Special Olympics is "alive and well" leading up to the Games, and the organization has worked hard over the last year to raise the funds.
"We hope the momentum of the Games will help strengthen the Special Olympics programs in Thunder Bay and beyond," she said.
According to LETR, their organization is the largest public awareness and grassroots fundraising organization for Special Olympics globally.
Organizers said in a written release Tuesday that the Draft an Athlete program is close to its $300,000 fundraising goal, but they are counting on the community to help raise the remaining $60,000 in the weeks leading up to the Games.
Donations are still being accepted in support of the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games Thunder Bay 2020, which take place in the city from February 25 to 29.