From left, Morrisburg Legion kitchen volunteer Karen Holmden prepares scrambled eggs for the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce’ Breakfast with Mayor Jason Broad, who welcomed Dundas Bike-A-Thon coordinator Douglas Grenkie. Courtesy Photo

MORRISBURG – It takes a certain type of individual that a community’s most vulnerable residents rely upon to overcome major challenges.

Douglas Grenkie is one such person the Children’s Treatment Centre (CTC) continues to lean on.

The longtime lawyer is again spearheading a major fundraiser for the CTC – the annual Bike-A-Thon – a task that he appears not about to relinquish despite a decade and a half in this role.

Grenkie said he became aware of the revenue challenges the CTC faces every year when he was a practicing criminal defence lawyer.

While speaking with the CTC then, he came to understand that it did not, and is still without provincial funding assistance for its operations, and that it was solely community support that enabled it to assist children and families.

That epiphany was the catalyst for Grenkie to become personally involved, by coordinating an expansion of the Cornwall-based Bike-A-Thon to Dundas County.

Later, it became practical to involve western Stormont County residents, as it was closer and more convenient for these participants to use the Bike-A-Thon’s Morrisburg to Iroquois loop.

While the Dundas Bike-A-Thon has never approached the level of Cornwall’s proportional popularity, he said local residents have made the event an annual outing to look forward on the calendar.

Through the years, many teams from different businesses and organizations have taken up the cause.

Asked to spotlight a specific group for their generosity, Grenkie identified the Laurin family, not just in publicizing the event in the Morrisburg Leader, but also for their own fundraising efforts.

Other groups, such as the Finch BMO branch, the Morrisburg Legion, the local Lions Clubs, and others, have also been Bike-A-Thon mainstays.

They collectively raise about $5,000 annually.

South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad praised the Bike-A-Thon’s organizers for also creating awareness for the CTC and the county as a whole.

This year, the Bike-A-Thon will be run virtually, which allows individuals and groups to participate when and where they wish during June.

If you are unable to join in, Grenkie encourages to sponsor those who are. For more information, please visit 2024 Bike-A-Thon – Children’s Treatment Centre.

He said Bike-A-Thon proceeds and direct donations to the CTC flow back for Dundas and west Stormont allowing families in need to access the CTC’s invaluable counselling programs for abused children.

As of this spring, 3,078 children overall have received healing for them to thrive today and in the future as adults.