AMYLOIDOSIS AWARENESS:
XAVIER'S LEGACY
Journey for X
Following Xavier's passing on 16th July 2020, his sister Aja decided that she would organise a charity bike ride in his honour the following year as a means of coping with his loss and spreading awareness about this horrible disease that nobody in the family had heard of at the time.
Since then, it has become an annual tradition for Xavier's family and friends to get together and spin their wheels across a new country, all-the-while spreading awareness for the disease by word-of-mouth, and raising money to fund vital research into its causes and treatments.
Each year, Journey for X begins on 10th July and crosses the finish line on the 16th: the anniversary of Xavier's passing.
Since it's inception, it has raised nearly £30,000.00 GBP in funding for Amyloidosis research, as well as creating a bursary in Xavier's name.
Scotland & England 2021
🦄🦁
The maiden voyage of "Journey for X" entailed a 558 km trip from Glasgow's Celtic Park to Nottingham's Warhammer World. A tremendous success, this inaugural ride raised over £11,000.00 GBP which was split between the UK's Royal Free Charity, USA's Mayo Clinic and Canadian University of Calgary's Amyloidosis centre. An emotional debut, it was the spark that ignited what has now become a yearly event, and in the process has created what is fast becoming Xavier's Legacy. What began as a heartfelt tribute to a brother lost has now snowballed into a global awareness campaign, reaching audiences across the world each year as we take on whatever challenge we face in our mission to spread awareness for this disease.
Canada 2022 🍁
Following a successful debut the previous year, beautiful British Columbia was selected as the 2022 host country. The team embarked upon a 532 km trek departing from Whistler Mountain, island hopping Westward, and ending back at Xavier's high school in his home town of Burnaby. This edition of "Journey for X" hauled in $5,300.00 CAD, and established a $1,500.00 per year nursing bursary at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Xavier's name. The team of cyclists grew by nearly double, and the support crew tripled in size. The ball keeps rolling.
Ireland 2023
☘️
There is some data to suggest that certain genetic mutations that cause amyloidosis may be more prevalent in people of Irish descent. This year's ride was our biggest yet, and stretched from the Irish mainland's most northern point, Malin Head, to the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher. It was once again a smashing success, and our best fundraising effort to date. We raised £8,213.31, which was spit into two donations. £3,200.00 was given to Amyloidosis Ireland, representing the 32 counties of Ireland and supporting amyloidosis research within them. The other £5,013.31 was donated to the the Royal Free Charity Amyloidosis Fund, and was very generously matched by Dell Ireland, making it a hefty £10,026.63 to research. This brings the year's grand total to £13,226.63, as well as the $1,500.00 (CAD) yearly bursary to BCIT.
