'Cure this dreaded disease': Sikh Motorcycle Club rides for annual diabetes fundraiser
Dozens of members from the Sikh Motorcycle Club came from across Ontario including Ottawa, Southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area to participate in their annual event, Ride for Cause.
The event is to raise awareness and money to help find a cure for diabetes which has become a growing concern in the country.
"In Canada we have 11 million Canadians with diabetes or pre-diabetes. This is a crisis of our time and to have the Sikh Motorcycle Club fundraise to help end diabetes is just a wonderful thing," said Grant Maltman, Curator of Banting House National Historic Site.
He adds one in three Canadians is diagnosed with diabetes.
The ride started at 11 a.m. Saturday morning in Brampton, ending at the front steps of the Banting House National Historic Site in London, the birthplace of Insulin 100 years ago this month.
"When we discovered insulin 100 years ago here, we shared it with the world. And I think we need to take that leadership role again to do more for diabetes and cure this dreaded disease once and for all," said Jagdeep Singh, Spokesperson for Sikh Motorcycle Club.
Members celebrated their ride with speeches, pictures, a sugar-free cake and a cheque presentation to Diabetes Canada for $113 thousand from Sikh Motorcycle Club chapters across the country.
"What we’re doing for diabetes Canada, is just a drop in the bucket. The real struggle is of the kids who actually are fighting with diabetes every day. People who have been affected with this dreaded disease," said Singh.
One of those children struggling is Bronwyn Kerr, 13, who was diagnosed with Diabetes at just four years old.
"It was hard at first, getting used to having needles all the time and constantly worrying about how many carbohydrates are in everything," said Kerr.
Kerr says she is touched with the efforts the Sikh Motorcycle Club is putting in to help find a cure for her disease.
She hopes that cure will come soon.
"It would be awesome, I could eat a lot more candy," said Kerr.
Until then, the Sikh Motorcycle Club and Diabetes Canada continue to ask Canadians to help support their cause by donating to the foundation.
You can find out more information on ways to show support here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.