Lonsdale's House in part with all of Shawnigan Lake School is participating in the Cops for Cancer event this year, where local police officers and emergency services personnel will ride 1200km from one end of the Island to the other - all to support local children and families living with cancer and beyond. The boys in Lonsdale's are all proud to say we can support this event, along with being able to thank and support the riders during one of their many stops. 

The money raised from this event will support the Canadian Cancer Society in fueling new pediatric cancer research discoveries and sending 600 kids each year to Camp Goodtimes, a medically-supervised recreation experience for children and teens affected by cancer and their families.  

We ask for any and all donations, no matter how big or small, every single cent can make a difference. Although we as a house have not decided how many members will be shaving their heads in support. We know their will be a few and if we reach our goal of $10,000, our house director Mr. Pollock has vowed to shave his head along with one of our bearded staff members has pledged to shave his beard. Even the boys who have been in the house for 5 years have never gotten to see Mr. Koltun beardless, it is a sight we all hope to see.  

How You Can Help Our House:
We invite you to join our cause and support our boarding house's efforts in this vital campaign. Your involvement can make a huge impact

Donate: Your generous contribution will directly support our efforts in raising funds for cancer research, education, and support services.

Share Our Mission: Spread the word about our fundraiser within your network. The more people we reach, the closer we get to our fundraising goals.

Join Us in Welcoming The Riders To Campus: If you're part of the Shawnigan Lake School community and want to be there as we rally together as a community and show our support to all those riding on October 3rd and 4th. The 3rd will be a BBQ involving all the fun fundraisers, headshaves, pie faces and so much more. October 4th, we present the riders with a check on behalf of the whole school, and send them on their way to finish their ride. 

Everybody and anybody can be affected by cancer and one of the boys in our house took it upon himself to write about his story and how it affected him.

Hello, my name is Cayden Lock. I am a Grade 11 in Lonsdale’s house. I’m originally from Hong Kong and here I will briefly talk about my story about my goalie coach who had to battle with Stage 4 Liver Cancer. 

Growing up in Hong Kong, I spent much of my time playing Ice Hockey. Ice Hockey by no means was a popular sport in the region. Finding coaches is a challenge that still stands today, the challenge increases when you’re a goalie. I was one of the few in Hong Kong who played goalie growing up. I never had a regular goalie coach ever since switching to goalie in 2014. Constantly jumping from one coach to the next, I never found one that worked with me. It wasn’t until 2016 that I met Dr. Sam Szeto. Born in Hong Kong but moved to Canada at a young age. He graduated from university with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, moved back to Hong Kong and became a tutor in his field.

Much like myself, he was a goaltender in Ice Hockey. I was fortunate enough to be his first student in Ice Hockey. To the surprise of my parents and myself, our bond was unlike any other. Sam never had coaching lessons and mastered his first lesson. On the other hand, I understood every comment, practice and action he had. For a nine-year-old to understand what their coach says 100% is an absolute shocker. For the next 3 years, he’d be my goalie coach continuously developing me to become a better goalie, using every trick and skill he had and transferring that skill set to me.
In 2019 after the summer holidays, the news from my parents was one I never would have expected. After a trip to Vancouver, Sam lost much of his appetite and went to do a body check. He did one 5 months prior with no outstanding results, and in September 2019, it was discovered he had Stage 4 Liver Cancer. From September to November, no one was allowed to visit him. It wasn’t till November that it became clear that cancer had taken its toll. From November to December, I’d visit him weekly. As each week passed, I could tell he became weaker and skinnier. On December 21, 2019, I got the news he passed away peacefully in his sleep. Over the course of those four months, a GoFundMe page was set up to subsidize much of the medical bills.
Cancer can affect people unexpectedly, whether they are people you love, people with importance, or just a friend. The path to recovery is a hard, costly and a painful one too. Any money going to support and help individuals with cancer can mean a lot.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. 

Together, we can make a difference!