A local display of bravery.
The Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation's 2nd annual Show Us Your Brave campaign raised over $376,000 this year.
Local philanthropist John Viecelli was then inspired by the community's courage and made a large donation to bring the campaign's fundraising total to $500,000.
This campaign challenges those in the community to confront their fears, not just for themselves but for cancer patients locally who must face their diagnosis with courage every day.
While those who pledged showed their bravery in a range of ways, over 100 individuals stepped over the edge of the CIBC building on June 21 - on Brave Day - rappelling 170 feet from the roof in downtown Windsor.
Houida Kassem, Executive Director of the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, says it's amazing to see how much was raised.
"$376,111 from our community, and then Mr. Viecelli reached out and said, 'I'm so moved by this campaign, I want to do something, what can I do?', and he said 'I want to donate, where are you at?', and we told him where we were at and he said, 'I'm going to give you enough money to take you to that half-a-million dollar mark'."
She says everything raised stays local.
"It was a couple of weeks ago that we announced the stem cell, so again, that's donor dollars. That is you, that is our community, without you we can't do what we do. And every dollar does stay local, we make sure that we're supporting the program, and ensuring that they're getting state-of-the-art equipment, or supporting the programs that currently exist."
Kassem says the community is so giving.
"You've heard this time and time again how we say our community is so generous, and this is just another example of people stepping up and making that decision to support sometimes people they will never, ever meet. So, a little bit of a surprise just because of the amount, but not surprised that the community did it again and stepped up."
The campaign saw over 2,100 donations for 2025.
All funds raised stay local and are used to support cancer care close to home.
The campaign will return in the spring of 2026.
Last year's campaign raised more than $350,000.