Over the last few years, brothers Wolfgang and Atticus Kuehnen, aged 11 and 8, have raised thousands of dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation.
This year they’ve added a fun twist to their fundraising effort: collecting hair to be made into wigs for cancer patients.
When Wolfgang was in junior kindergarten at Huntsville Public School and learned about Terry Fox, he asked his dad Jason to take him to the annual run in town. Instead of using his spending money on a t-shirt, he donated to the Terry Fox Foundation.
“When I was in school we learned about kids that did great things and I was like ‘woah’ and felt inspired. I realized I could do something too in order to make a difference,” said Wolfgang.
His interest in Terry grew from there and it rubbed off on his younger brother Atticus.
A few years later the brothers, who were both born in August, hosted a birthday party and asked family and friends to donate to the foundation. They were able to deliver $200 to that year’s run.
Last year, the 40th anniversary of the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope, the boys had to devise a COVID-safe way to host their party and still raise money for the cause.
The pair decided to host a Ride for Hope birthday party at the Lions Lookout track. They invited friends and family and did laps of the track on their bikes.
The boys’ mom, Marcia, contacted local Terry Fox Run coordinator Sharon Stahls to help with the event. Stahls brought decorations and books, and made goodie bags for the kids.
The event was a huge success and the boys surpassed their goal of $500, raising $2,000. They were featured on the Terry Fox Foundation website and received hats, plaques, and thank you letters signed by Fox’s family.
This year they decided to also ask for hair donations to be made into wigs.
The boys hadn’t had a haircut in two years and decided to be the first ones to donate their locks.
So far they have nine confirmed hair donations and almost $2,000 in monetary donations.
“I always said to my boys their whole lives that I just want to be one thing and that is kind. I am so proud of them,” said Marcia. “It’s unusual for children of this age to be thinking beyond their own gain so it’s been amazing to see the awareness they have that they can make a difference. It’s also been really touching that family members we don’t get to see often and even strangers online have donated to Team Birthday Brothers.”
The boys say they plan to keep fundraising annually for as long as they can.
If you have a hair donation (undyed and a minimum of eight inches long), contact Marcia at [email protected] to arrange a drop off.
Or you can donate toward the Team Birthday Brothers fundraising effort before September 19 at terryfox.ca/teambirthdaybrothers.
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What a couple of nice young men !!! Thank you for your kindness and good hearts. Your Mom must be so proud of you both and she should be proud of herself for raising such great kids. Job well done “Mom” . Good luck to you both.
This story is so inspiring, so beautiful and deserving of a front page spread!! Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope 40 years ago to help others, especially the children he met who were like himself and battling cancer. It must be so heartwarming for the Fox family to read stories like these, to this day, and realize the scope of Terry’s mission and the love and spirit he ignited so many years ago when he, himself, was just a kid! My heart swells with pride knowing Terry is our Canadian hero! I hope that we WILL see Terry Fox on our Canadian $5 bill and I urge everyone to consider this nomination online through the Bank of Canada! Most of all, I congratulate Wolfgang and Atticus, as well as their parents Jason and Marcia for the kindness in their hearts in keeping Terry’s dream alive! Thank you, as well to local Terry Fox organizer Sharon Stahls for all your tireless work in keeping Terry’s dream and spirit alive here in our beautiful town of Huntsville! There IS so much GOOD in the world; let’s keep sharing these stories of hope and kindness.
Bravo Wolfgang & Atticus (aka “Terry Heroes”)!! ???????? ????
Lisa Mcilmoyle
Huntsville