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Back to The Marrow Walk

Route update · September 27

The walk now goes through Tsawwassen, and is back on schedule in Victoria

See the route, stop by stop

Saanich to Victoria

Day 25 · Scheduled earlier

Bone Marrow Awareness Day — Sidney

Sidney town centre, British Columbia

Sidney’s history beside the Salish Sea

This day on the route

Planned date
The day
Awareness Day
Planned walking
No planned route miles

Day 25: planned Awareness Day in Sidney, with no planned route miles. Public meeting details must be confirmed separately.

An empty weathered bench overlooks calm blue water and wooded islands, with driftwood along the shore and coral leaves at left, painted in gouache.
Illustration inspired by Sidney town centre, British Columbia.

The sixth planned Awareness Day remains in Sidney. No route miles are scheduled before the next stage south along the Saanich Peninsula to Saanichton.

Sidney’s history is closely tied to the peninsula and its surrounding islands. The town’s heritage account starts with the longstanding presence of W̱SÁNEĆ people, then follows the later subdivision and growth of the settlement. Fifty acres were divided into lots in 1891; the village was incorporated on September 30, 1952.

The planned Awareness Day follows the ferry arrival and precedes the walk south to Saanichton. This placement gives Sidney two entries with different purposes: a destination at the end of a travel day and a separate educational pause. The next walking stage heads south along the peninsula.

For readers in British Columbia, Canadian Blood Services provides the official registration process and eligibility information. Readers following from the United States can turn to NMDP. Each offers guidance for people considering joining where they live.

From the road

A Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney, and the walk to Saanichton too

She was able to do her walk to Saanichton that day, as well as her Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney. She visited the office of the current MP, Elizabeth May. Unfortunately, the office was moving, so she wasn’t able to meet her, but she had all the contact information she needed.

Then she was able to see folks at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and they gave her the name of their communications director, so that he could help get the word out to cadets and officers between the ages of 17 and 35 who can join the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry.

She also stopped by the fire department, but no one answered the buzzer; she thought they must have been out on a call. She went to the community centre as well, so it was quite a day of crisscrossing Sidney, and a beautiful walk without her great big pack, because Kath and Ted kept it for the day.

Several places offered her food throughout the day. Sapodilla’s Smoothies & Juice Cafe gave her a wonderful breakfast protein bowl with fruit and granola, Sidney’s Scones gave her a delicious raisin scone for a quick snack, and the Corner Thai Restaurant provided her with a late lunch from its buffet.

I am grateful for the time I have had here in Sidney.

Jeana Moore
A road with a double yellow line beside a row of trees along the shore, calm water and a low wooded far shore beyond under a grey sky.A shoreline road looking across calm water to low islands and distant hills, power lines overhead.A blue and orange carved sign reading Welcome to the Town of Sidney, parked cars and the water behind it.Calm water with low islands and a range of blue hills in the distance, a faint snowy peak behind them and a trimmed hedge in the foreground.A close view of a lavender daisy-like flower with a golden centre among more blooms.A notice in a window from the constituency office of MP Elizabeth May, announcing that the office is moving.A pink Sidney Scones sandwich board on a brick sidewalk, with shops and parked cars along the street behind.A Royal Canadian Mounted Police sign with the force's crest, a tree with red leaves behind it.The crest of the Town of Sidney Fire Department on a glass pane, a tall-masted ship on blue waves at its centre.A close view of a carved and painted wooden face, with red lips and touches of turquoise.Clusters of small pink bell-shaped blossoms among fine, needle-like green leaves.A close view of a weathered grey statue of a smiling older man in a cap.
Distance walked
5.8 miles
Find your official registryDonate to JBFSee every stop

Choose where you live

Continue to the official registry that serves you. It decides eligibility, handles registration and contacts you if you may match a patient.

Where in Canada?

Canada outside Québec — Canadian Blood Services

The Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry asks for people aged 17 to 35 in good general health. You answer eligibility questions online, complete a profile and sign a consent form; a cheek-swab kit arrives in the mail within one to three weeks for you to swab and return. If you live in Québec, you register with Héma-Québec instead. Canadian Blood Services makes the final eligibility decision.

Check the listed age range

Visit Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services — Stem cell eligibility and registration · checked Sep 1, 2026

Browse all official registry options

Eligibility rules can change. Confirm the current requirements with the official registry before joining.

Give to the Jada Bascom Foundation

Choose a symbolic amount or enter your own in Givebutter. Your donation supports JBF’s work wherever it is needed most.

Sponsoring a mile, a day or a stop is a way of describing a gift to the Jada Bascom Foundation. It does not purchase anything on the route.

$100.00 is a suggested amount. Confirm or change it in Givebutter.

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Sources

Local history and background reading for this stop.

  1. Culture and heritage — checked Sep 5, 2026
  2. Stem cell donation eligibility and registration — checked Sep 5, 2026
  3. Join the donor registry — checked Sep 5, 2026
The flyer: STOP BLOOD CANCER set in tall letters over a dark plum page, a quote, and a QR code beside the words TEXT JADA TO 61474.One standing face of the table tent: the same headline and quote on the left, a large QR code on the right.

Take it off the screen

Print it. Put it where people already stand.

A coffee counter, a church foyer, a break room, a race table. Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk, and a number to text for anyone who would rather not scan — no app, no wifi, nothing to hand back.

Everything else for running a drive

Rather be the one at the table?

Host a registration drive at your school, work or place of worship, raise funds, or lend a skill. Tell us what you have in mind and we will help you plan it.

Ways to volunteerHost a registration drive