Terry Foster keeps walking and giving after 40 years of fundraising

Terry Foster has spent the last 40 years raising money for a number of different causes. It started with walking for Terry Fox followed by multiple sclerosis and then cystic fibrosis.

Foster has done 131 walks and over those years has raised more than $242,000, putting him in the top one per cent of fundraisers. He raised more than $18,500 this year alone.

He spends his time walking from door to door in Lindsay asking for people to sponsor him in this cause. “This year I filled 68 (sponsor) sheets. By the time the walk actually gets here I’ve been on 85 per cent of the streets in town,” he said.

“On top of all of those, I’ve also done five official walkathons on the highway,” Foster said, walking a total of 450 km during those walks.

These causes are close to his heart, and to many in the community. “I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t know someone who’s gone through cancer,” he said.

In 2020 Foster was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. His most recent CT scans have come back clean. This health scare made him even more passionate about raising as much money as he can and allowed him to see firsthand how the money raised for cancer patients is used.

Now on his walks he wears a red shirt. “If you ever see someone wearing a Terry Fox shirt that’s red, that means they’re a survivor,” he explained.

Even with the weather getting colder, Foster isn’t done giving back. “Even when (the walks) are done, I’m not really finished for the year, because I also do the Kinsmen toy drive.” Foster dresses up as Santa every year at the toy drive. “That’s just for fun,” he said.

His work hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Foster being recognized as Citizen of the Year in 2021 and being named Volunteer of the Year this year. “I’m still very humble about it, because if it wasn’t for all the people who sponsor me, I wouldn’t look so good,” Foster said.

Foster says he has no plans to stop walking for these causes. “Next year on the last week of April, I’m hoping to do a walk on the highway for MS. I’m going to hopefully do about 150 km over four days,” he said.

Foster is appreciative of everyone who has supported him in his walks thinking of himself simply as a “little guy that is out there doing something.