Alumnus Bill Pristanski (BMath ’78) thinks that students can make a difference in the world through their volunteer work.
He should know. He’s been involved with the Terry Fox Run since it started — as a participant every year, a fundraiser and chair of the Terry Fox Foundation board of directors.
Pristanski first decided to get involved when his mother was inspired during her own fight against cancer by Terry Fox’s speech at City Hall in Sault Ste. Marie in 1980. Pristanski decided to run in the first Terry Fox Run that took place a year later.
When his mother passed away in 1983, he pledged to run every single year until a cure was found. So far, he has run in such places as Vancouver, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Montreal, Nantucket and the island of Maui.
In 1983, he moved to Ottawa to serve as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s executive assistant. Pristanski quickly became one of Ottawa’s top Terry Fox fundraisers and worked closely with the Fox family when they organized events in Ottawa. His hard work and dedication to the cause were evident when he was elected chair of the Terry Fox Foundation board of directors in 2013.
A principal at Prospectus Associates, one of Canada’s leading government relations firms, Pristanski raises funds from his extensive network that includes clients, government contacts, friends and family. He has personally raised more than $700,000 for cancer research and believes, “the key to fundraising is persistence along with a large personal network.”
Pristanski, who lived in residence at St. Paul’s University College, led a small group of St. Paul’s students who were so inspired by his story that they raised $1,000 and participated in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Terry Fox Run with him in 2015.
When asked what advice he has for people looking to get involved, he says, “I believe that young people should select a cause like Terry Fox and dedicate time and resources to working to make a real difference in the world. Terry, a Simon Fraser University student at the time of the Marathon of Hope, is a great example for Canadian students. A young man with a big dream, an iron will and a noble cause, Terry captured the heart of a nation and secured an enduring place in our nation’s consciousness.”
Photo Credit: Pavel1964/istock/Thinkstock
