Toby Stigdon in the last quarter-mile of paddling as he approaches the end of the 73-mile Kayaking for Cancer paddle.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — A Columbus resident is kicking off the second year of a fundraiser for cancer patients that went swimmingly in 2022.
Toby Stigdon, who has poorly differentiated thyroid cancer, is preparing for his second annual Kayaking for Cancer trip. This year, he plans to traverse the entire length of the East Fork White River from Columbus to Petersburg, Ind., with the trip taking place from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8.
Stigdon launched his first trip in 2022 as a way to raise funds for other cancer patients, asking individuals to donate to the Schneck Medical Center Foundation to show their support. The trip lasted three days, with Stigdon paddling about 74 miles on the East Fork to Sparksville, Ind. and raising close to $28,000.
“My body’s a little different,” he said. “They can’t really treat it with normal chemotherapy or radiation, so I tell everybody I’m going to push my body for them, because they fight, and they fight hard to get through that kind of stuff every day, so I’m going to push to raise money for them the best way I can.”
This year’s trip promises to be quite the push. Marty Benson with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ communications division estimated that the route from Columbus to Petersburg along the East Fork is about 200 miles, depending on where Stigdon starts.
Stigdon said that Greg Foley, who was with him last year, has committed to this year’s trip as well.
When asked if he has a fundraising goal, Stigdon said he’d like to double last year’s total or double the number of donors who give to the cause.
“I’d love to get about $56,000 this year,” he said. “But I’m not, when I start pushing — the ‘shares and cares’, I called it on Facebook — I’m not really going to say that. I’d like to end at least with $10,000, shoot small again and hope we land big.”
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
