Arts & Science student Kira Young has completed the ride of a lifetime, biking from her hometown of Yellowknife to to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
Young rode 1,600 kilometres over 10 days to raise money in support of children with rheumatic diseases, and to increase awareness of the realities Northern families face when travelling long distances for specialized care.
These realities are familiar to Young, who became sick at the age of 15 and had to make repeated emergency flights to Edmonton to access health care unavailable in the Northwest Territories.
After 20 days in intensive care, she was finally diagnosed with a rare autoinflammatory disease.
Young and her family experienced many challenges on these trips: The need to travel far each time led to delayed diagnoses, navigating different medical systems and logistics was challenging.
And being far from home, without family and community support, made a difficult time that much harder.
Recognizing the unique challenges faced by children living with rheumatic diseases in northern, rural and remote communities across Canada, Young wanted to do something.
The idea to retrace the route she had travelled first came to her when she was being treated at the Stollery. In the Fall of 2025, she made it happen.
Young partnered with a national charity called Cassie + Friends that supports kids and families impacted by rheumatic disease.
With Young’s fundraising support, Cassie + Friends will expand resources into the North to support youth who need to travel long distances for specialized care.
On the ride, Young was joined by close friends from Yellowknife, as well as her Arts & Science classmate, Sofia Sikka-Patel.
Over the course of the ride, they met with rural families affected by rheumatic diseases. The team arrived at the Stollery on Monday June 15, and raised more than $82,000, exceeding their fundraising goal.
“This bike ride has felt like the project of a lifetime,” says Young. “On a personal level, I love being active and outdoors, and it was really fun to joyfully reclaim a route that has represented hardship in my life. On a community level, I am excited to mobilize these funds, but perhaps more importantly to show rural, remote, and Northern youth, as well as those living with rheumatic diseases that there are people in their corner.”
At McMaster, Young is a varsity cross-country skier on the Nordic Ski team, and an emergency medical responder with the McMaster Emergency First Response Team.
For more information about Young’s ride, visit Stanton to the Stollery on the Cassie + Friends website. Visit the @cafsociety on Instagram to see videos and photos from the journey.