KITCHENER -- A Fergus man is setting out on a more than 700 kilometre canoe trip to raise money for women’s heart health and St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener.
Pete Viol will be paddling from Port Severn to Ottawa.
“I’ve budgeted 20 to 30 days because I just don’t know what the weather will be like.”
He says cardiac health is a cause close to his heart.
“My motivation for this project goes back to 1983. My wife died of complications following a heart transplant and that never leaves you.”
Viol says he wants to do whatever he can to raise awareness for women’s heart health and the cardiac centre at St. Mary’s General Hospital.
As a retired member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, Viol is used to taking part in physical challenge fundraisers.
Last year he hiked the Bruce Trail which spans 970 kilometres, and in 2019 he biked from Banff, Alberta to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.
Viol has raised over $100,000 over the past few years for St. Mary’s General Hospital.
With this year’s canoe trip fundraiser, he’s hoping to bring in another $30,000.
“It’s number one to raise money for the cardiac centre, but the more important thing is to raise awareness for women’s heart health issues.”
Viol says women's symptoms are often underdiagnosed or missed altogether because they present differently in women than they do in men.
Viol will take off from Port Severn on August 22 and his goal is to be in the water for eight to ten hours a day until he reaches Ottawa.
