7 marathons, 7 days, $70K, for a 70th birthday: Sask. man helping his dad send aid to Ukraine

A Saskatoon man is running seven marathons in seven days to help raise $70,000 for people in Ukraine as a part of his father's 70th birthday plans.

"My dad went to Ukraine in 2023, had a chance to hand out supplies to people that were near the front lines, that didn't have access. When he came back, he fell in love with the people from Ukraine and the idea of helping them out," Cory Jones said in an interview Wednesday.

Jones' father, Bob Jones, turns 70 on May 18 and decided to raise $70,000. Bob asked people across Canada to help him raise money. 

"I was fortunate enough to be one of those people. I'm necessarily doing it for my dad, when he's doing it for people in Ukraine."

As of Wednesday, Jones said he has run 168 of 295 kilometers and raised $17,000 from his marathons. Another $25,000 have also been raised so far from across the country.

Jones said there has been a lot of support from the community around his marathons and he hopes it spreads across the country. He said some people have been wanting to run with him.

"There is a lot more suffering than when I'm running. And, I don't want to let my dad down. That's probably one of the biggest motivating factors. Whenever I feel like it's getting too hard, I always know there's more to go," the 41-year-old said.

"Whenever I start to feel sorry for myself, I understand that there's a lot of people out there that are going through a lot and that this is just a small piece that I can do to kind of help give back."

Jones said his father decided he wanted to raise $70,000 through Loads of Love Humanitarian Aid and Mission Society, a charity based out of Chatham, Ont. 

Ed Dickson, the international director of the charity, has known Jones' father for a while and was the one to invite him to Ukraine. He said the father-son duo are "a phenomenal example of" the Canadian values.

"You can go all across Ukraine and people will tell you how much the Canadians are helping them right now. It really is a testament to the people of Canada and their giving nature," Dickson said in an interview Wednesday. 

Dickson said he travels every two months to Ukraine for three weeks working on the front lines in the war zone, delivering groceries and medicines to people. So far, he said they've delivered over 200,000 sets of groceries to families and helped evacuate over 10,000 people.

"People across Canada have been giving literally millions of dollars. We're probably approaching half a million dollars already that's been donated this year for Ukraine," he said.

"We get people constantly breaking down in tears and they can't believe that the world has not forgotten them and it's just such a huge blessing to them … when someone here gives $10 to Ukraine, it comes into what is valued at about $100 in their country, so you can imagine $70,000 and how that relates."