A young man from Winnipeg is making his way on foot across Canada to raise money for cancer research as thousands of Canadians watch his journey live.
When Jackson Charron-Okerlunde started training for his Cross Canada Jax trek four years ago, he never imagined that so many supporters would end up following his every step.
“We lose people way too soon, people like Terry Fox, at such a young age and millions other, so I just wanted to take on a cause where I could make a difference,” said the 25-year-old from Winnipeg.
Driven to give back like Fox, his idol, Charron-Okerlund said he quit his job working as a support person for seniors and set out to walk across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
The response to his journey since he left St. John’s, N.L., in the bitter cold just over a month ago, he said, has been overwhelming.
“Every since I started the livestreams, the community has picked right up and people will hang out for all eight to 10 hours with me,” he said.
Only three provinces into his journey and more than 35,000 people are already following Cross Canada Jax’s journey on social media. He livestreams his daily 50-kilometre walks while perfect strangers send messages of encouragement and donations.
Some supporters even track him down along the highway to show support.
“I will keep following him every day. I will probably see him again tomorrow,” said Chris Martin of Fredericton, N.B., who is following Charron-Oakerlund’s journey and had met him along the highway with food and drink.
“They’ll give me food, they’ll give me drinks, they will make sure that I am topped up on everything that I need to sustain myself,” said Charron-Oakerlund.
Elon Campbell paid for a warm motel bed for Jackson as he passed through New Brunswick this week.
“If we had more people like this guy in the world today, the world would be such a better place,” said Campbell.
Charron-Oakerlund started out pushing a baby stroller he calls “Carter” packed with all of his survival gear sleeping in a tent. His best friend from out west is connecting with him this week in a follow van to support him in the trek.
With a pair of Terry Fox sneakers tucked into Carter for inspiration, he’s already raised more than 17,000 dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation.
“People have been really touched by my journey and they really want to see me make it across Canada.”
With so many heart emojis pumping him up with motivation to reach Port Coquitlam, B.C., he said it feels like an entire nation is walking right along with him.
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