Are you willing to wreck your rectum for research? Scorch your sphincters for the social good? Char your holes for charity?!
Then the Ring of Fire Fundraiser is for you!
About the event and cause
The Ring of Fire Fundraiser is a hot sauce eating event in support of colorectal cancer research. Participants challenge themselves to a marathon of pain as they battle 10 hot wings, each with a spicier sauce than the last, while raising money for colorectal cancer research in Alberta.
Date: Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Time: 6:30-8:30pm
Location:
CRAFT Beer Market: 10013 101A Ave, Edmonton, AB
Colorectal cancer (aka: bowel cancer, colon cancer) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada and it is one of leading causes of death from cancer for Canadians. On average, 68 Canadians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer every single day. That’s not okay.
The Ring of Fire fundraiser is a hot sauce eating
competition, but the fundraising format is similar to any
other charity walk or run...just with hot wings. Very hot
wings. A marathon of pain, if you will. The general format is:
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With COVID-19, there has been a 20 per cent drop in cancer diagnoses. This means once we are past COVID, there is likely to be a marked increase in diagnoses and at a later (aka: more deadly) stage. This will increase demand for support and services by Alberta Cancer Foundation and other cancer serving organizations. This is one of the many reasons we feel so strongly about this fundraiser. Another is that 68 Canadians are diagnosed every single day with colon cancer. We need to fund research to help lower that number. With your help we can contribute to that research funding.
Meet Geoff
It's no surprise that people usually care a lot more about a cause when they or someone they know has been affected. So let us introduce you to Geoff and his wife, Kassia , so you'll know some folks who has been affected:
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One Friday in June 2017, Geoff Hollis-Haynes became one of those 68 Canadians a day who are told they have a cancerous tumor in their colon. At only 34 years old, this was a shock as 93% of cases occur in adults aged 50+ . Geoff was rushed into emergency surgery to have the tumor and part of his large bowl removed. A few weeks later, he started his first rounds of chemo. Four years later, two additional bowel resections, a liver resection, learning to live with an ileostomy and a nephrostomy, countless rounds of chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation treatments later, Geoff’s cancer has progressed to stage IV and, on November 8, 2021, Geoff died at the age of 38.
Geoff also loved hot sauce! Anything spicy really, but especially hot sauce. He loved eating it, he loved making it. He even tried to grow a pepper once (it didn’t go well). And the jokes basically write themselves when you think about a dude obsessed with hot sauce who literally had to have his butthole surgically removed. When you look at it that way, this hot sauce eating fundraiser was inevitable.
The Ring of Fire Fundraiser is organized by Geoff’s wife/widow, Kassia Hollis-Haynes, to honour her hot sauce loving husband, and to raise funds for colorectal research so all those facing bowel cancer have the best chance of survival. Ideally, no one should have to face what they have had to face. And research is the only way to get there.
Ready to get involved? Yeeaaah, buddy, you totally are!
Participate:
- If you want to challenge the hot sauces and char your holes, click on that big ol' green "Register" button at the top of the page
- You'll be prompted to create your fundraising page - just follow the steps.
- Pay the $42CAD registration fee. This fee covers hard costs (like your wings) and makes the event possible.
- Mark Wednesday, October 5, 2022, in your calendar - that's the evening you'll be doing your marathon of pain alongside the celeb guest at CRAFT Beer Market (our freakin' rad venue and presenting sponsor)
- Start collecting pledges (aka: donations) from your friends and family. You're gonna burn your mouth and likely every other sphincter in your body doing this, so encourage them to be generous.
Support and donate:
- Hit that orange "Contribute" button at the top of the page
- Choose the amount that you can contribute
- Choose the team you want your donation to be attributed to (that's probably going to be the friend that asked you to pledge them, but in case you just stumbled upon this fundraiser, feel free to simply choose our Celebrity Guest, Gordie).
- Follow us on Instagram and/or Twitter and encourage more people to get involved
You can contact us at teamhollishaynes@gmail.com with any question or concerns. To learn more,
visit our website at www.ringoffirefundraiser.ca
