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Aim to make the world more wonderful

As we announced earlier, Mikey is stepping away from Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) to make time for some other incredible initiatives such as the Wrong Way To Hope tour and the operation of Peacefield. We wish Mikey and Bonnie well and look forward to continuing our relationship with them as they work on making the world a better place.
image It’s crazy how life can happen. One thing I learned from cancer is to always try and move fluidly with life instead of fighting against it. I have a tendency to try and fit life into the plans that I have made but I have learned to be more fluid. Even so it, is a big step for me to let go of my position at YACC.
I have loved my year at YACC more then any job I have ever had and that has made my decision to leave full-time employment there one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. I will miss the regular pay cheque, but way more then that I will miss the regular interaction with all my amazing coworkers. Everyone at YACC is so solid and I am excited to watch them grow and help many more lives from a bit more of a distance.
I say “a bit more of a distance” because I will always be very involved with YACC and will continue to do the Survive & Thrive Expeditions (1 spot left for this year by the way!) and help facilitate at the Retreats and Conferences. One of the primary goals of me leaving YACC is being able to provide an amazing venue for retreats to happen at a very reduced price so that YACC can do more of them. That brings me to my reasons for leaving:
Wrong Way To Hope spring 2011 cross-country film tour
We will be taking the film across the country starting March 20 in Vancouver and ending May 20 in Halifax. We will have over 30 screenings of the film in hospitals, local cancer support centres, and public venues. This is a massive undertaking for Bonnie and I, and was something we had planned on doing ever since we came up with the idea for the film two years ago. Unfortunately, even though YACC is one of the primary sponsors of the tour, it does not align closely enough with YACC’s mission of sustainability (it is a one-time event) and I could not stay full time with YACC while traveling for two months.
Check www.wrongwaytohope.com to see when we will be in your city!
Peacefield Retreat Centre
Some of you know this already, but Bonnie and I were given the use of a 15 bedroom, 160 acre retreat centre called Peacefield just 15 minutes outside of Calgary at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. We will be moving out there in May with our good friends Jason and Cassandra Boyes to start preparing it to run retreats. Operating a retreat centre is a massive undertaking and we could not responsibly work with YACC full-time and Peacefield at the same time. We will be running our first retreat, REvive, in September and our mission is to give survivors the time to reflect, refocus and rebuild their lives post-treatment, as well as having a whole lot of fun and relaxation (hiking, BBQ, solo time, giant slip n’ slide, etc.). We will need volunteers to come help us and we really hope that some of you can come. Please check the Peacefield website soon to get more details.
I hope that explains my decision well enough for all of you. Ultimately, Bonnie and I are on this earth to love God and love people and we feel that we can best do this by taking this inspiring and perspective-altering film across the country, and by giving survivors a week (or two) at Peacefield to begin reflecting, refocusing, and rebuilding their lives after cancer. Bonnie and I want to live a life that easily trades comfort and security for opportunities to make the world a better, more loving place and that was the catalyst for this decision.
Thanks Geoff and Karine and everyone else at YACC for being so supportive of us as we figure out life. See you all soon!

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