Bruce Johnson, a sales rep with ReMax of Wasaga Beach in Wasaga Beach, Ont. and his daughter Holly rode a motorcycle 9,400 km from St. John’s to Vancouver in August, raising funds for and visiting each of the 14 local Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals.
Johnson has raised more than $100,000 for Children’s Miracle Network (SickKids Hospital in Toronto specifically) since his first fundraising ride (Wasaga Beach to Costa Rica) in 2013.
Bruce and his wife Mary lost their daughter Alyssa Rae in 1998 after she was born, despite the efforts of the doctors and nurses at SickKids. The couple chose to channel the painful experience into one of hope for other families by raising awareness and necessary funds.
“The fundraising idea has been brewing since Holly’s most recent eye surgery at SickKids,” says Bruce. “I found myself in the NICU and visited the room in which Alyssa passed away in our arms in 1998 and I was struck by how powerful that moment … and that place … still is in our lives. We have always supported SickKids and CMN through the Miracle Home Program, but we wanted to do more.”