Our Mission

Our primary mission is to give children battling cancer and their families the hope, care and treatment they deserve. We do this by funding equipment purchases and special programs to help the dedicated medical professionals give the best care possible to young patients in the hematology/oncology division.

Since the first ride in 2005, the CIBC 401 Bike Challenge has been a growing success, raising over $2,000,000. These funds have benefited Sarah’s Fund at The Montreal Children’s Hospital. The CIBC 401 Bike Challenge organizing committee graciously recognizes the invaluable contribution of the riders, sponsors, donors and CIBC branches from Toronto to Montreal over the past ten years. We are very pleased to announce that since 2009, in addition to benefiting Sarah’s Fund, a portion of funds raised will benefit the hematology/oncology division at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital. In 2014, we further extended our support to the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada.

Your Dollars at Work

For more than a decade, the CIBC 401 Bike Challenge has been a strong supporter of the division of hematology/oncology at both the Montreal Children's Hospital and the Toronto Sick Kids. Our event has helped offer patient programs, nursing education which has had a tremendous impact on the treatment, care, and recovery of patients as well as funded the purchase of much needed medical equipment.

For 2016, 2017, and 2018, the CIBC 401 Bike Challenge has pledged to help fund a national research initiative called "Profyle". Leading Montreal Children's Hospital Dr. Nada Jabado is taking part in the initiative referred to as the Terry Fox Precision Oncology for Young People. Profile aims to transform the care of children and young adult patients by using next generation molecular tools and cancer model systems to identify disease and patient-specific biomarkers that are trackable targets for therapy. The Terry Fox Profyle Program combines the renowned expertise of more than 50 of Canada's brightest researchers to tackle this challenge.

With the help of funding, we expect to:

• Save the lives of young cancer patients across Canada, through newly identified treatments
• Generate personalized molecular tumour profiles to improve the patient's treatment options and potentially the disease outcome
• Develop methods to improve the resolution of the molecular profiling
• Identify and develop better treatment options
• Provide access to the shared research platform of young patients to doctors across Canada
• Create a new paradigm for cancer research in Canada.

At the Montreal Children's Hospital, in 2016, the event funded the purchase of physiological monitors. Physiologic monitoring systems measure and display waveforms and numerical data for various parameters including ECGs, respiratory rate, blood pressure etc. Continuous monitoring is a valuable tool that helps provide additional medical information to doctors and nurses regarding the physiologic condition of a patient.

Three paediatric patient rooms are now equipped with a physiological monitor which will improve the ability of the ward to accept medical information transfers from other areas in the hospital.

A cycling program for young hematology-oncology patients:

A first on Sarah's floor at the Montreal Children's Hospital an exercise program specifically designed for cancer patients will be offered on the hematology-oncology ward. The CIBC 401 Bike Challenge funded the purchase of 2 exercise bikes, and hired a specialized trainer who will work with patients on a weekly basis, two days a week, to help regain strength during their gruelling treatments.

At the Toronto Hospital for Sick Kids, the CIBC 401 Bike Challenge has pledged $140,000 for a patient consult room. A beautifully appointed and equipped room used by doctors, patients, and family to discuss treatment options, procedures and scheduling.