Drive for the Cure: Harnessing Good Times for a Cause

It began with three friends and a shared goal.

Twenty-five years ago, Doug Hawley, Rob Jeeves and Kirk Fisher made a simple plan to hold a golf tournament at Langley’s Redwoods Golf Course, where Hawley works as managing director.

That early idea has since expanded into a wildly popular annual event, Drive for the Cure, and has raised millions for foundations and charities across the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver to benefit cancer prevention and treatment.

Over the last four years, hundreds of donors, golfers and volunteers have worked – and played– to help fulfill Drive for the Cure’s pledge of $100,000 for essential tools for Langley Memorial Hospital’s endoscopy unit.

These funds helped the hospital to purchase much-needed scopes, or equipment that helps specialists detect cancers of the stomach and colorectal region.

With more scopes, the hospital is able to perform even more procedures, providing quicker access to diagnostic and intervention treatment, improving each patient’s chance of beating their cancer.

The Drive for the Cure golf tournament has become a well-known event, with nearly 200 golfers and volunteers taking part every year.  Organizers have run complex fundraising events such as a “long table” dinner (imagine a huge outdoor public dinner party for 500 people).

When they first launched the tournament, Fisher had just lost his mother to cancer. Since that first tragic loss, both Hawley and Jeeves have lost their own mothers to cancer. Early this year, Fisher lost his father, local business icon Larry Fisher, to cancer as well.

The elder Fisher’s construction firm, Lark Group Construction, has been the tournament’s title sponsor for 25 years so the loss of Larry Fisher on the eve of the tournament’s 25th anniversary will carry a bittersweet tone to the next event.

“Over the last 25 years, there's been so many other people [we’ve lost from cancer], and so much along the way that keeps motivating everyone to keep doing it, to keep going to the next level.”

When their guests and tournament participants understand exactly how their gifts will be used, they feel encouraged, says Hawley. “It makes a difference to everyone that 100 per cent of the funds go toward equipment.”

Ultimately, Drive for the Cure’s fundraising for Langley Memorial Hospital is driven by a shared concern for those facing cancer diagnoses among the organizers and a generous community, says Doug Hawley.

“Nearly every one of us, or someone we care about, will need to visit Langley Memorial Hospital, and it’s really important that our health care workers are well-equipped with the tools that match their expertise,” he says.