A local woman and her stepdaughter are taking on a myriad of obstacles this weekend to raise money to help send kids with disabilities to camp.
Janet Holmes and her stepdaughter Shauna Holmes will be among hundreds of women taking on the Woman2Warrior challenge, a five-kilometre "adventure race" on Saturday.
The event raises funds for Easter Seals Camps and will help send more than 900 children with disabilities throughout B.C. and the Yukon for a weeklong camping experience at one of the three Easter Seals accessible camps.
Saturday's race, which takes place at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, is a five-kilometre route featuring 12 obstacles testing a participant's strength, agility, balance and nerves -and they have all been kept secret.
"I'm a little daunted," said Janet. "We don't know what the obstacles will be."
The challenge is one of many Janet, who owns Lawlor Goldsmith Shoppe in Ladner, and Shauna, an emergency room nurse in Burnaby, have taken on recently.
Last year, they made a decision to make some changes and take on a healthier lifestyle. They started a healthier diet and exercising regularly. Janet said she was motivated to make the change to avoid some of the health problems her mother started having.
She said she made the decision to make the lifestyle changes to make sure she remains healthy and mobile as she ages.
"It's been huge for me," Janet said of the change, adding she has lost 40 pounds so far.
In April, the pair completed the Vancouver Sun Run. It was at that time they heard about Woman2Warrior.
At first, they took it on as a personal fitness challenge, Janet said, but when they started to look more into Easter Seals, it became more than that.
"The more we talked about it, the more we discovered a connection with Easter Seals," she said, adding that she and Shauna kept discovering more and more people they knew who were benefiting from the charity.
Shauna found out she has a cousin who has attended Easter Seals camp for years and has talked about the experience with such joy.
As they have trained over the months, their commitment to the fundraising side of the event has grown.
Janet is the third highest fundraiser right now and as of Wednesday has raised more than $1,400, less than $100 shy of her goal of $1,500.
For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.woman2warrior.ca and search for Janet Holmes or their team, Diamonds In The Rough.
Donations are being accepted until Oct. 21.
