‘Every year, someone else is affected’: Bluey Day participants share motivation for taking part in fundraiser

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Residents of all ages participated in the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation’s annual Bluey Day fundraiser over the weekend.

$124,648 was raised at the event, surpassing the foundation’s goal of $100,000. That money will be put towards new, comfortable chairs for chemotherapy patients at the Community Cancer Centre.

In the weeks leading up to the event, many of the people set to participate in Bluey Day appeared on 100.1 Moose FM discussing their reason for joining the fundraiser, collecting donations and ultimately having their heads shaved on stage.

One participant, Leah Thibodeau, said she made the decision to join this year’s fundraiser after volunteering for the 2024 version of Bluey Day. Thibodeau, a hairstylist, helped to shave participants’ hair last year.

“We got to shave heads last year for Bluey Day, and I was just super inspired by all the people that were shaving their heads, and the community support and all the energy that was there,” Leah said. “It made me really want to do it.”

Several people who were born and raised in Fort St. John, who have since left the community, returned for this year’s Bluey Day as well, in the hopes of supporting people struggling with cancer.

One of those people was Jacqui Simpson-Smith, who now lives in Calgary. Smith shaved her head early during a trip to Fort St. John for the Victoria Day long weekend, since she wasn’t able to be in the city for the actual event.

“Both Fort St. John and the Bluey Day [campaign] are very important to me,” Simpson-Smith said. “The Bluey Day campaign has made a real difference in [this] small town. I think Fort St. John deserves to be as equipped as a big city would be, and quite honestly, a lot of my people are still here, so I like coming here.”

Many regular participants also returned for this year’s Bluey Day, including Kelly Fell, participating for her 15th year.

Fell began participating after losing her young grandson to a form of cancer, and has continued for the people in her life who have dealt with cancer in her life.

“I do it for Angie,” Fell said. “I do it for Bruce. I do it for my sister, who now has been diagnosed with breast cancer. My brother-in-law, who’s fighting throat cancer. That’s why I do it, and I’ve done it so long, because every year, somebody else is affected.”

Donations to participants’ Bluey Day fundraising campaigns are still being accepted on the event’s CanadaHelps page until May 31st.