Kilometres for Kids

http://www.thesuburbannews.ca/content/en/2122

Late last Saturday afternoon, an SPVM motorcycle escort led by Police Chief Yvan Delorme preceded 25 SPVM cops as they wheeled their way down Ste. Catherine Street towards the city’s new plaza at the corner of Jeanne Mance in the downtown core.

“After riding 5,000 kilometers through the Rockies, through the Plains, through bad weather and heavy winds,” said SPVM Planning director Jean-Guy Gagnon, “it’s good to be home.”

Two weeks ago, with the Pacific Ocean’s wind at their back, three teams of SPVM cops used their summer holiday time to bike across the country so they could raise some money for Quebec’s missing children’s network, known locally as Enfant Retour. As of this weekend, with thousands of miles under their wheels, the SPVM’s cross-country ride already raised $80,000 and police officials said more checques are on the way.

“If we can save just one child, it’s because of people like you,” she said. “and please remember it’s people like you who can make the difference between a family’s normal life and a parent’s endless nightmare.”

Local police forces across the country offered help and hospitality while the riders made their way across the country. Sergeant Ouellette said another 25 volunteers helped to pull the trip together as massage therapists, a doctor, a couple of bike mechanics and some of the riders’ wives all helped to keep the teams fed, fit and ready for the next day’s ride.

Commander Gagnon said all the riders, including triple Olympic medalist Isabelle Charest and her husband, former Alouette defensive linebacker Steve Charbonneau, did everything on their own time.
 
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Victoria Stafford’s favourite colour was purple.

Her father, Rodney, never noticed how prevalent it was. Now, months after his eight-year-old daughter was abducted and killed, the Woodstock, Ont. native sees it everywhere he travels.

Stafford, in the midst of a Woodstock-to-Edmonton bicycle ride to raise awareness of missing and abducted children, was exhausted a few nights ago and stopped at a forgettable hotel in the middle of nowhere.

Stepping into the bathroom, he saw three towels, two white and one purple.

"Why couldn’t it have been blue, white or green, you know? Why purple?" Stafford asked.

He realizes it likely just adds up to a series of coincidences, but it’s just that type of logic that’s running through his thoughts these days.

Still grieving, her father said no family deserves to be put through an experience like that again.

"It’s been an emotional roller coaster from hell," he said, during a day-long stop in Thunder Bay on Monday. "You have your highs and your lows, and the majority of it is lows, but you’ve got to keep the right frame of mind and keep going.

"I want to prevent other families from having to go through what myself and my family, my ex-wife and her family have had to go through and hopefully with funding and stuff like that, they can come up with the technology needed to bring other children home."

Stafford is expected to arrive in Edmonton on Sept. 18. 2009

Read the rest here:

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Entertainment/?cid=64067
 
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We left Ignace this AM and started our final leg of Northern Ontario through to Dryden tonight and Kenora on Thursday.​

As we came within 10 kms of Dryden we were met by the local radio station and the police. I felt like I was in a parade...horns honking, people waving ,,,awesome welcome.​

Read the rest here on Rodney's Blog:​

 
yay! Rodney is getting some advance publicity -- and support -- for his stop in Winnipeg on Monday. Usually the FP only writes about things after they happen.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/br...ipeg-Monday-on-fundraising-tour-55887157.html


Members of the Winnipeg Police Service "Cops for Kids" bicycle relay team, bicycle patrol unit and traffic officers will ride with Rodney Stafford. They’ll leave Westmount Drive and Patterson Street at 10:30 a.m., then ride to The Forks.

The Forks is a very central, very busy area here so he's sure to get a lot of support. IDK if I will be able to make it, but I'll definitely think about going down there.
 
Had to drive to St.Anne because of 100km/hr speed limit on TransCanada. Authorities felt it too dangerous to ride on.


Permit for the ride through the province got mixed up a little, but getting it fixed.


Spent the night with Sophie & Paul. Met with Sandra and Christy from CF Manitoba. Raised awareness and funds at Vicky’s Drive In.


Special thanks to Lorette and his daughter from Blooms n' Balloons, Sophie & Paul, Randy and Kim (volunteers from Child Find Manitoba) and Vicky’s Drive In.


So far, Manitoba is looking like it’s going to live up to our experience through northern Ontario. Pretty proud to be Canadian about now.

http://www.eye-zon.com/EyezonBlack20090213/Kilometres_For_Kids/Entries/2009/8/31_St._Anne.html
 
Nice to see that Rodney got a huge media turn out!! Way to Go Rodney, you are a true hero, and your angel is watching over you as you ride to Alberta. Stay safe.

http://www.eye-zon.com/EyezonBlack20090213/Kilometres_For_Kids/Entries/2009/8/31_Winnipeg.html

Winnipeg
Rode into Winnipeg today to Inn at the Forks, accompanied by Winnipeg Police Cyclists, Motorbikes and Cruisers, as well as MP Shelley Glover.


Huge media scrum when I arrived - haven’t seen that many since Tori first disappeared. Met a load of people at The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, thanks to all of you for doing what you’re doing!


Helps me remember that I am not alone in this whole thing, and there’s a world full of kids that need our protection.


Christy & Sandra – thanks for taking us to Dinner, delicious at Red Lobster. Off to City T.V. first thing tomorrow!


Winnipeg’s great!
 
Rodneys blogs and messages make me tear up every time I read them. He certainly has alot of support behind him. This guy deserves a medal for what he is doing. Do any locals know if he could be nominated for citizen of the year, or anything along that line.
 
Rodneys blogs and messages make me tear up every time I read them. He certainly has alot of support behind him. This guy deserves a medal for what he is doing. Do any locals know if he could be nominated for citizen of the year, or anything along that line.

I have the same response as you flipflop whenever I read the messages and his blog, it always brings a tear to my eye. I do think it's great that as RS gets closer each day to his goal, there is more media attention and more donations for a great cause. If they have a citizen of the year award, he definitely deserves it. I can only imagine how hard this must for him, during his time of grief.
 
I have the same response as you flipflop whenever I read the messages and his blog, it always brings a tear to my eye. I do think it's great that as RS gets closer each day to his goal, there is more media attention and more donations for a great cause. If they have a citizen of the year award, he definitely deserves it. I can only imagine how hard this must for him, during his time of grief.
I think this is he way of dealing with his grief and what keeps him going. It must be hard, imagine the hills. I'm glad he is on the prairies now. That should make the biking easier.

He does deserve a special award but I don't think he would want one.
 
Rodney Stafford wants people to open their eyes to the potential dangers lurking out there.

“I want people to know that no matter where you live, whether it be a big city, a small town, a little community, it can happen anywhere, at any time,” said Stafford. “These people find out ways to make it happen and children are disappearing everywhere. We have to try put some kind of stop to it.”

He admitted there are times when the grief and pain are too overwhelming and during his trek, he’s had his moments.

Stafford has such a moment while he was biking near Kenora.
“Right on the rock wall, someone spray painted their nickname “Chubbs.” That was what we called my daughter,” he said. “I was biking along and I just happened to look up and I seen it and it was — instant. I had to pull over and take a break.”

He set his bike down and ran until he found a spot where he could release his emotions.

“I sat down and cried for like 10 minutes,” said Stafford. “It just hit me so hard, just seeing that name.”

Stafford is biking from his hometown of Woodstock, Ont., to Edmonton. Tuesday marked his 34th day on the road and about a week left of his tour. So far, the father has raised about $22,000 for Child FInd

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Tori...ess+about+missing+children/1972564/story.html
 
Wednesday, he'll tackle the stretch of of Highway 11 between Regina and Davidson, north of Moose Jaw. He says the crowds that have greeted him along the way have given him the support he needs to make it to Edmonton.

"The further I go, the bigger it gets and I'm very glad to see that because people are obviously paying attention to what I'm doing and I'm spreading the word."

Stafford says each morning he wakes up and stares at a picture of Tori and that is his motivation for the day.

http://www.discovermoosejaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9488&Itemid=401
 
Lloydminster
Woke this morning to go to City Hall to meet the Mayor of North Battleford, only to find that because of a small storm rolling through we had to move it over to the public school, where there was a very large group, ok, the whole school sitting in the gym. A few of us made little speeches to the children about safety, and the importance of what I am doing. I shook the hand of every child who walked through the door on the way out, and gave them each a Child Find bracelet.

Left North Battleford, and here I am, in Lloydminster ALBERTA!!!! Tears are rolling knowing that I am merely days away from accomplishing what I set out to do. I'll be on the mountain with my baby in FIVE days!!!

Love you Tori, and daddy will see you soon babygirl!! :) Love you Daryn, was nice talking with you again today. See you in EIGHT days buddy! I miss you soooooooooooo much!!

Took a photo here today which really touched my heart. I will send it as soon as possible and I want every parent out there to please look closely. The whole monument made me remember what I felt when Victoria was gone. I was not alone, and anyone out there who has a child missing, please know that you are not alone either. God Bless you all, and never give up!!

http://www.eye-zon.com/EyezonBlack20090213/Kilometres_For_Kids/Entries/2009/9/14_Entry_1.html
 
Special Monument
This is the monument I was talking about in my last blog.

The whole monument made me remember what I felt when Victoria was gone. I was not alone, and anyone out there who has a child missing, please know that you are not alone either. God Bless you all, and never give up!!


http://www.eye-zon.com/EyezonBlack2..._Kids/Entries/2009/9/15_Special_Monument.html

UGGG, I can't figure how how to attach the picture, and here I thought I was actually a little computer savvy! LOL
 

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I admire this man so much for what he's doing to help others ...

BBM

It was an emotional reunion Sunday for Rebecca (Stafford) Nichols and her brother, Rodney Stafford.

Five days before his arrival in Edmonton -- the last stop on his cross-county Kilometres for Kids bicycle trip in memory of his slain daughter Victoria (Tori) Stafford --Nichols and her new husband, Nathan Nichols, drove three and a half hours to surprise and offer support to Stafford in North Battleford.

Stafford was attending a fundraising function hosted by local First Nations groups, one of several stops on his 3,453-kilometre journey.

Organized as a tribute to his daughter, the trip is geared to raise money for Child Find Ontario, a non-profit organization dedicated to reuniting abducted children with their families.

"It was quite emotional," Nichols said. "He's doing OK but he's tired -- he's ready to be done."

Nichols said Stafford expects to finish his journey on Thursday, when she, with her sister Natasa Edmonds and brother Russell Edmonds, will accompany the cyclist into Edmonton.

Friday will be a day of rest for Stafford, and a chance to talk to local media about his cause.

Nichols said a celebration of his journey will take place at the West Edmonton Mall on Saturday.

On Sunday, Stafford will travel to a Jasper-area mountain, once visited by Tori, where he plans to release a single purple balloon.

Nichols said she is proud of what her brother has accomplished.

"By focusing on helping others he's bringing light into a dark situation," she says.


http://woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1753521
 
Guelphite, I also have great admiration for this man. I think he could go on to do some amazing things.
 
Good for Rodney! I am so proud of this man for sticking to his guns and doing what he set out to do. Perhaps his journey has given him time to heal. I am sure Darryn can't wait to see his dad.
 
The Executive Director of Child Find Ontario said an awakening has occurred in Oxford County and across Canada following the disappearance and death of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford.

This tragedy has affected everyone really. In terms of what transpired with Victoria missing and then found tragically. This has hit a sore nerve in many people," Child Find's John Lattimore Durant said.

Representatives from Child Find attended a fundraising dance for the organization Saturday at Ingersoll's CAW Hall. The hall was decorated in purple, Victoria's favourite colour and pictures of other missing children lined the walls.

Lattimore Durant said calls to Child Find's main office in Mississauga increased tremendously during the search for Victoria following her disappearance April 8 and increased again when her death was confirmed July 21.

When Victoria was located we were getting a lot of inquires about our programs from the Guelph area, Woodstock, London, Brantford, everywhere really," he said. The issue of child safety really hit home."
Rodney Stafford's fundraising efforts with his bike ride from Woodstock to Edmonton, Alta. dubbed Kilometres for Kids helped to keep child safety on the forefront of everyone's mind, Latimore Durant said.

Money raised through events like Stafford's ride and through community events, like this dance, is used for many things including running identification programs and sending volunteers into schools and community centres to teach children about safety.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1973355

Since 1984, Child Find Ontario, a not-for-profit charitable organization, has participated in the search and prevention of missing children.
On the web:

www.ontario.childfind.ca
 
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THAT'S MY GIRL: Rodney Stafford holds up an altered photo depicting him and his late daughter Tori standing on a mountain near Jasper, Alberta. He was speaking at the annual general meeting of Muskoka Victim Services.

Dad tells of journey in memory of daughter
October 7, 2009 - by Brent Cooper
Rodney Stafford has been raising funds across the country for Child Find Canada in honour of Tori
All eyes in Partners Hall were on Rodney Stafford as he spoke... including those of his late daughter Victoria, better known to the world as Tori Stafford.

The eyes from the audience that watched Stafford talk about his stories were often wiped with tissues, while a poster showed the face of his smiling daughter, her eyes staring directly at her father as he stood the podium to talk about his little girl.

Stafford was in Huntsville as the guest speaker at the 11th annual general meeting of Muskoka Victim Services on Sept. 30. More than 50 people listened as he spoke about dealing with the loss of his precious daughter and told tales from his trip this summer across most of Canada to raise funds and awareness for Child Find Canada, a national non-profit organization that is dedicated to the search for, and prevention of, missing children.


.......

During his ride, there were two memorable stops for Stafford. One came in Alberta, where out in the middle of nowhere he met the father of a young girl who had also been abducted and murdered. The two men sat for a period and shared stories about their similar tales of woe. When they parted, each man had given the other a bracelet in memory of the other’s dead child.?The other occasion came during his ride through
Saskatchewan, when he was hosted by a rural family whose young son had also been abducted and assaulted. Fortunately the youth had escaped his abductor, who had been convicted eight previous times for similar incidents.?“A thing like this happens in small communities, it happens overseas, it happens anywhere. That family in Saskatchewan made a big imprint on my life, and I can honestly say I am really excited about going back out there next summer to introduce my son to my new family friends out there.” ?When he finally reached Edmonton, Stafford was then flown to Jasper where he released a balloon from the mountain Tori had stood on before, a place many now call Tori’s Mountain. He released a purple balloon from that spot in Tori’s honour.

To immortalize the moment, Stafford had a photo of his daughter on that same spot on the mountain altered to include an image of himself standing with her, his one arm around the little girl nicknamed Chubs.

He told the audience he believes the ride has raised more than $40,000 for Child Find. ?Stafford also said he is not done with Kilometres for Kids and that he has put some thought into doing the ride again next summer with Daryn and his girlfriend Whitney.

“Raising awareness that was created along this journey... knowing that that little girl is upstairs smiling at me saying, ‘Daddy you rock,’ makes me warm inside. Knowing the possibility that what I have done could actually possibly save a life…” he said, getting a bit emotional.

Anyone wanting to make a donation to Kilometres for Kids can do so at TD Canada Trust, Branch 227, account 521-0920, by cheque to Child Find, 440A Britannia Road East, Mississauga L4Z 1X9 or by credit card by calling 1-800-447-6047.

http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/article/146896
 

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