Can an Eight-Year-Old Make a Difference?

We believe Kayden can. This is His Story.

Kayden is always smiling and up for an adventure

Kayden is always smiling and up for an adventure!

The Can-Survive Walk has been the most walking that 8-year-old Kayden Lefebvre has ever done. With his Mom, Dad, Grandma (Meme), Brother and Sister, he’s been walking a little bit every day on a journey to raise funds for programs and initiatives that help those affected by Cancer.

“My favourite thing about the walk is walking as much as I can with my Dad,” says Kayden.

It’s been quite the undertaking – when his Dad told him that he wanted to take the family on a cross-country walk from Alberta to PEI, Kayden thought the idea was ‘pretty crazy’ and thinks that it’s still a ‘little’ crazy. But with just more than a month left until they reach their final destination Kayden admits that the walk has been really fun, although it can be tough to keep the pace. “It’s hard keeping up to my Dad,” Kayden admits “I’ve got to run to keep up with him.”

To beat the summer heat, Kayden says that swimming has been “the most fun thing” he’s done on the walk, and he’s loved swimming with his family in lakes and pools. His favourite place along the walk has been Winnipeg, where he enjoyed meeting extended family when the Lefebvre’s came through Manitoba. He’s also a big fan of the Winnipeg Jets hockey team.

Along the roadside, Kayden’s picked flowers and found spare change, and he remembers meeting someone along the road who donated $100. He’s seen deer and a snake (a dead one) – and he most loves to tell the story of the time when the family’s motorhome was visited by a bear.

“A bear attacked us!” Kayden recounts. “He sniffed around the motorhome and rocked it while we were sleeping. We knew because of the paw marks (on the side of the motorhome) and it rocked the motorhome. My Mom woke my Dad up. They looked around but couldn’t see anything.”

Kayden is always the Joker - "Just Hanging Out"

Kayden is always the Joker – “Just Hanging Out”

After the walk is over, Kayden looks forward to going back to school and playing hockey with his brother, a favourite among many sports he loves. He also loves football and baseball, which he looks forward to playing during free time at various campsites. Kayden’s also been practicing his writing by filling the pages of a journal. “We write in our journal every day and now we need new journals,” Kayden adds, “I only have five pages left!”

When the family reaches the end of their trek, he said his Dad has made a deal with him that he’ll get his own dirt bike. As motivation for anyone out there working towards their own goal, Kayden has these words of encouragement – “God bless, good job, and keep it up!”

Kayden and his family are walking to support The Lefebvre Foundation, created in memory of his Grandpa (Pepe), Simon Lefebvre, who died of Cancer in 2016. The Foundation’s goal is to raise endowment funds to help society become and live Cancer free through the effective use of awareness, education, support and treatment for physical and mental health and well-being of all those who are affected by Cancer.

The Can-Survive Walk is a 5,716-kilometre walk being completed by Simon’s son, Jimmy Lefebvre and his family. The Lefebvre’s will walk 7.2 million steps from Grande Prairie, Alberta to Saint Louis, Prince Edward Island between May 1 and August 31, 2018.

To support the Can-Survive Walk, visit our Donations page. Donations both big and small will go towards the L Foundation’s endowment fund. Thanks in advance for your support! To date, over $24,700 has been raised to eradicate this dreadful illness. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, over 80,000 people in Canada died from the disease in 2017.

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