By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
Wendell’s Walk has surpassed the fundraising goal set at $20,000 by Wendell Thomson. As of 25 September 2023, the funds raised totaled over $29,000! The Bruce Peninsula Hospitals Foundation plans to have a final count at the end of September, since donations continue to come in throughout the month.
Wendell had set himself the combined goal, to walk the 60 kilometres from Tobermory to his home community of Pike Bay and to raise $20,000 for the Lion’s Head Hospital.
April Patry, Executive Director of Bruce Peninsula Hospitals Foundation, says 100 percent of the monies raised will go directly to the Lion’s Head Hospital. The funds will be spent to upgrade and expand the current nurse call system at the Lion’s Head Hospital. A call bell in each patient room and washroom, allows the patient requiring assistance to push the call bell to call for help. Additionally the system allows staff to call more staff into rooms in emergency situations by the push of a button.
On 11 September 2023, Day One of Wendell’s Walk, Wendell and two companion walkers, Kathy Nixon Speechley and Fallah Alrubeyi started walking at 6 a.m. from the Bruce Anchor Cruises parking lot in Tobermory. They were accompanied by Lonnie Bray and Gary McCarthy of Bluewater RV which provided a deluxe support vehicle and a police cruiser driven by Auxiliary Staff Sergeant Tom Buckley of the Grey Bruce OPP, with logistical support by Rotarian Cathryn Buckley.
Clocking about 4 km an hour, the group arrived at Miller Lake Rona by 1:30 p.m. The following day was a no-go due to inclement weather. On Wednesday, Wendell was raring to go, he aimed to walk over 33 km to Pike Bay, planning to arrive at 2 p.m. Starting at 5:45 a.m, Wendell, his fellow walkers (Rotarian Anne James, elementary school friend Kathy Nixon Speechley and South Bruce Peninsula resident Fallah Alrubeyi), and their support crew departed Miller Lake Rona. They covered the distance to the Ferndale Visitor Centre in 4 1/4 hours where they were greeted by Wendell’s fellow Rotarians and well wishers.
The determination that stood Wendell well all his life was on clear display over the 33 km walk on Day 2, as he steadfastly walked towards the Pike Bay Community Park, not wishing to disappoint his supporters waiting for him. As Wendell and his companions made the trek down the highway, motorists and truckers honked their horns and waved. Along the Pike Bay Road, many motorists slowed down to give personal messages of encouragement as well as to offer donations to the cause.
As Wendell and his group arrived at the Pike Bay Community Park, approximately 50 Pike Bay Community Association members, fellow rotarians, family and friends were on hand to greet him and congratulate him on his accomplishment.
Still standing after the 33.9 km walk, Wendell said he wished to thank the community for all their support and for their generosity which translated into over $29,000 for the Lion’s Head Hospital.
Wendell has been planning this Walk for over two years, he approached his fellow Rotarians at the Northern Bruce Peninsula Rotary Club to help him with logistics. Childhood friend Kathy Nixon Speechley, who accompanied him on the two days of his Walk, jokingly said Wendell waited two years for her to retire, so she would not have an excuse not to accompany him. Fallah Alrubeyi, a resident of South Bruce, had at times accompanied Wendell as he walked the Pike Bay Community roads to prepare for this event.
A lifelong resident of the Bruce Peninsula, Wendell has been raising funds for over 50 years for various charitable causes on the Peninsula. He is very appreciative of the community organizations and supporters that assisted him when he required medical care and for helping him to attend the Easter Seals children’s summer camps. He became well-known as a key fundraiser for the popular Snowarama/Skiarama events (a fundraiser for the Easter Seals of Ontario) in the late 1980s. Over the years it has been estimated Wendell has fundraised nearly half million dollars. Wendell sees his various fundraising and volunteer activities as a way of giving back to his community.
