My name is Ivan, and I would like to help support a family going through some very difficult times. A 3-year-old boy, a friend of my son, is about to lose his mother to cancer. Tragically, she is a single mom and has been told she has only months to live. As you can imagine, it is a heartbreaking situation. We are doing what we can to help this boy continue to experience as close to what a normal childhood should be, as is possible, given the situation. However, as we look ahead, it is apparent that the family will be facing additional burdens, and for this reason, I would like to raise some funds to assist them.

I am doing this with the permission of the family, who have requested to remain private as they are currently going through some very difficult times. If you would like to donate, but you feel like the lack of details sounds like a scam, I would be happy to explain the situation in a little more detail privately - feel free to contact me.

This May, I will be participating in the Toronto Half-Marathon - the first time I've ever attempted something like this. Instead of running for the enlisted charities, I decided that I wanted to raise funds for something closer to home, so I will be running for this little boy and his future. A half-marathon is no easy task; during my training runs in recent weeks, whenever I've begun to struggle to keep going, my mind always comes back to this boy and his family. So I'm constantly reminded that I can keep going and reach the finish line.

We appreciate any generosity! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.