For the second year in a row, the Adrian Oliver Memorial Run raised more than $10,000 for Honour House.
About 300 people braved frigid temperatures on Saturday to run the five-kilometre charity run around Deer Lake Park, Const. Ben Oliver with the Burnaby RCMP told the Burnaby NOW on Monday.
The run is in memory of Oliver’s brother Adrian, who was a constable with the Surrey RCMP. Adrian was killed while on duty in November 2012 when a semi-truck crashed into his police cruiser.
Last year was the first year for the event – organized by Oliver and a few other friends – and about 200 people turned out for the run. This year, about 100 more people took part in the fundraiser, raising nearly $17,000 for Honour House, Oliver said.
“The raffle and the silent auction brought in close to $10,000 and then everything else was around $7,000,” he said. “We were pretty happy with the turnout. It was good – short and sweet just like we wanted it.”
All the money raised will be donated to Honour House, which provides temporary housing for families of Canadian Forces and first responders.
When Adrian was killed two years ago, the Oliver family stayed at Honour House. The stay made such an impact during that tragic time that Oliver decided to organize a fundraiser for the house in Adrian’s honour.
Planning for next year’s run is already underway, Oliver said.
“We have a meeting with our guys probably in the next week to see what went right and what went wrong and what we can do better,” he said. “It’ll be even bigger next year I hope.”
