FERGUS – On the weekend of Aug. 21, Fergus resident Pete Viol will begin his 750km canoeing trip through Ontario’s waterways to raise money for the cardiac centre at St. Mary’s General Hospital.
The fundraiser, dubbed Canoe for Cardiac Care, will take about a month, ending in mid-September.
In the last four years, Viol has raised over $112,000 for St Mary’s, and his goal is to raise an additional $30,000 in 2021.
“Raising funds and awareness for cardiac disease and women’s heart health issues has a special meaning to [Viol], now retired from Waterloo Region Police Services,” stated Jane Jameson, chair of the Canoe for Cardiac Care committee, stated in an email to the Advertiser.
“In 1983, Pete’s wife Monique died of complications following a heart transplant.”
Jameson explained Viol has been participating in physical challenge fundraisers for several years, mostly on a bicycle, including:
- in 2015 he took on the Tour Divide, a grueling, self-supported mountain bike race on dirt roads and remote trails in western Canada and the United States;
- in 2016 he pedalled 3,100 km on back roads and rail trails from Newfoundland to Ottawa;
- in 2017, he rode 4,300 km across Canada from Vancouver to Waterloo Region;
- in 2018, his Appalachian Tour ended abruptly on the second day after a bike crash and a serious shoulder injury. Coming back after the injury in 2019, he rode from Banff, Alberta to Tuktoyaktuk, North West Territories on the edge of the Arctic Ocean; and
- in 2020, he hiked the entire 970km of the Bruce Trail.
“I got tired of biking,” Viol told the Advertiser of his transition to hiking last year and to the canoe this year.
He will start paddling at Port Severn, through the Trent Severn waterway. Then he will navigate Sparrow Lake, Lake Simcoe, Beaverton, Fenelon Falls and Peterborough, continuing through Rice Lake, Hastings, Campbellford and Trenton.
From there he goes through Lake Ontario, enters the Rideau Canal system and, after passing through more rivers and lakes, he will end the trip in Ottawa.
Canoeing comes with its challenges, and it’s the most weather-dependent activity Viol has done for a fundraiser.
“If you don’t get the right conditions you can’t paddle that day,” he said.
Viol, who has been training regularly in preparation for his trip, said he is finding the change of pace “a breath of fresh air.”
While Viol has experience canoeing, this is his first time paddling a single, and it’s a different skill, he explained.
He emphasized that St. Mary’s cardiac centre is the catchment centre for Wellington County, and patients are referred there.
“St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation is very honoured to work with Pete Viol in his fifth fundraising event, supporting the Cardiac Care Centre at St. Mary’s,” stated Susan Dusick, president and CEO of St Mary’s General Hospital Foundation, in an email.
“Pete has successfully raised over $115,000 to fund life-saving care, and we are continually amazed at his passion and dedication to this cause. Pete is an admirable advocate, supporter, and friend to the hospital and foundation. Thank you, Pete.”
Viol said he’s most looking forward to “bringing awareness to the public” on women’s heart issues.
He added it’s not talked about enough how warning signs for heart health in men and women often look different, and its men’s that are primarily discussed.
“A lot of [women’s] warning signs are mistaken,” he said.
To learn more about the fundraiser or to make an online donation visit smghf.ca/pete-viol.
