Starting on May 22, Daryl Bonar, a military officer and former Edmonton mayoral candidate, began a journey to run from Calgary to Edmonton in support of the Youth Emergency Shelter Society’s (YESS) Homeless for a Night event.
Bonar has been a long time advocate for at risk youth and is a co-founder of “Da Bomb Squad,” an at risk youth leadership program.
He vowed to complete the 400 kilometre run to not only raise money for the youth shelters but also to raise awareness for the cause.
“A lot of these kids who have trouble finding accommodations have stayed at the shelters in Calgary and Edmonton and the kids are what keep me going through the run,” said Bonar, during his stop in Innisfail on his way to Edmonton.
Emily Keating, the communications coordinator for YESS said that Bonar’s run has been a huge support for the kids’ shelters.
“A lot of the kids that come through our doors think that no one cares about them, and when someone does something ad grueling as this it helps them to realize people do care,” said Keating.
The run took a total of six days running approximately 64 kilometres per day. Bonar finished the run in Edmonton with a reception at the Homeless For a Night event on May 27. Bonar raised over $7,000 for the youth shelters through his run and after it ended said that looking back it was a great experience and even though his body is still recovering he would do it again.
