(Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Go Live Foundation

Red Deer hosts first Drive to Thrive event for kids with cancer this Sunday

Aug 13, 2022 | 10:52 AM

The thought of childhood typically brings up feelings of innocence, playfulness, and a care-free nature; but these types of fond memories most have aren’t what’s usually experienced by kids battling cancer.

This Sunday, one Red Deer organization is dedicating a day for these little fighters to make memories filled with fun, adrenaline, and excitement.

The Go Live Foundation will be hosting their very first Drive to Thrive event on August 14 while raising funds for Kids Cancer Care. Roughly 10 kids, who have faced or are currently facing different forms of cancer, will ride in a luxury exotic sports car of their choosing amongst Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens and more.

“That day specifically is all about the kids,” said Rachelle Dandurand, co-founder of the Go Live Foundation. “We’re trying to get people to come celebrate these kids who have gone through the hardest battle, kids who are so strong.”

Many of the kids are from central Alberta, including Red Deer, while others are attending from Calgary and Edmonton.

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Beginning at 2 p.m. at Das Auto Imports Experts (4630 61 St #3), the children will be picked up in their own sports vehicle, and in parade-like fashion will be led by an RCMP Traffic Unit officer through Red Deer and to the highway for an even faster thrill few get to experience.

The event will also consist of a car show open to the public, a free BBQ, live music presented by Bo’s Bar & Stage from the alternative-rock group Young Howler, and a Go Live merchandise booth.

Inspired by the Okanagan Dream Rally in Kelowna, Rachelle and brother Ryan Dandurand saw an opportunity to bring a similar event to central Alberta.

The siblings established the Go Live Foundation in 2019 after the passing of both their parents, Mike and Heidi, to cancer. Before and during their cancer treatments, Rachelle says her parents embodied what it meant to live life to the fullest; the mantra inspiring their future foundation.

A car family, including Ryan who’s a self-described car fanatic, Rachelle says it was her mother who held a strong interest, racing around Red Deer in her ’65 Ford Mustang.

“We wanted to think of events that really promoted living life to the absolute fullest,” she said. “She [Heidi] had a car that she drove all over and it kind of sparked us into thinking, ‘This car makes us happy, it makes other people happy when they see it, so why don’t we do something that involves cars in honour of both of our parents?’”

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While the event does not have a fundraising goal, the main objective of the day is to place the spotlight on the kids.

“Life really throws curveballs no matter what age you are,” she said. “They are the most positive kids I’ve ever met and it’s one of those things where it kind of shows us as adults or adolescents or kids or seniors or any stage of life, that it doesn’t matter what you’re going through, you have to keep living life to the fullest. You have to find the positives.”

To donate, attendees can do so at the event upon entry, at the Go Live merchandise booth, or by emailing Rachelle at thegolivefoundation@gmail.com.

The million dollar question Rachelle gets asked, she says, is whether this event will become an annual tradition.

That will all depend on the community’s Drive to see it Thrive.

“We just want to make these kids feel like the all-stars they truly are.”

(Supplied)