Today, the Terry Fox Centre and the Royal BC Museum (RBCM) announced they have entered into a long-term partnership that will bring an extensive collection of national treasures to Victoria.
The collection that the RBCM will become stewards of contains belongings and keepsakes of Fox’s, gathered throughout his short life, as well as memorabilia from the 1980 Marathon of Hope.
In this collection are a number of iconic items owned and worn by Fox, including the shoes and prosthetic leg he wore on his daily marathons.
The iconic van that was used for the Marathon of Hope is also a part of this extensive collection.
“For 44 years, Terry Fox has been an inspiration to Canadians and we are thrilled to be entrusted with the stewardship of this important collection,” says Tracey Drake, CEO of the RBCM.
“The Royal BC Museum is proud to work alongside the Terry Fox Centre and Fox family to safeguard and preserve Terry’s legacy, and dream, for future generations.”
According to the Terry Fox Centre, they have been looking for a suitable steward of the ‘All Things Terry’ collection and the opportunity to partner with the RBCM was too good to pass up.
Fox moved to BC from Manitoba when he was just 8-years-old and spent the better part of his life here, to both the Centre and the RBCM saw it fitting that they take care of his collection.
“We are excited by how our partnership with the Royal BC Museum will assist us in our efforts to engage Canadians and people worldwide with Terry’s story of hope, courage and determination,” says Darrell Fox on behalf of the Terry Fox family and the Terry Fox Centre.
“Terry is not with us physically, but his shoes, leg, sock and Marathon of Hope t-shirts, together with thousands of other artifacts, will inspire future generations to pursue their dreams while giving back.”
Friday, April 12th marks the 44th anniversary of Fox setting out on his Marathon of Hope, in which he would run the equivalent of a marathon a day until he ran from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Vancouver.
His cancer spread and he had to halt his efforts in Thunder Bay, Ontario on September 1st.
In total he ran 5,373 kilometres and inspired millions of people to continually run the ‘Terry Fox Run’ which has become the biggest one-day cancer fundraiser in the world.
This collection is considered part of a 20-year long-term partnership and will officially remain in the ownership of the Fox family, while the RBCM can display the memorabilia as they choose during that time.
As of this publication, they have not yet announced official plans to display the collection.
The featured photo of this article is from the 2017 exhibition at the RBCM where some of the many items acquired were on display, including Fox’s custom van.
 announced they have entered into a long-term partnership that will bring an extensive collection of national treasures to Victoria. ){kind=link}