Who we are

Read for the Cure began in 2006, in Toronto Canada, when two members of a west Toronto book club, who had just finished treatment for cancer, had a great idea... Acknowledging the important role of reading in their lives, and the wonderful support they had received from their fellow members during their treatment, they saw an opportunity to harness the energy of enthusiastic book clubs and readers to raise funds for cancer research. With two other book club members who had close family members affected by cancer, they formed a committee of four. Together they developed a vision of ways to bring readers and writers together for a wonderful evening, while raising funds for cancer research.

Since then, with the help of Random House of Canada, our corporate sponsor, we have hosted five annual series of Author Events in October and November. See our Events pages for more details about the award-winning authors who were featured in our 2011 and 2010 Past Events.

In Ottawa, we are fortunate to have a very capable committee headed up by Beth Allen and Judith Nolte.

New in 2011, our Calgary committee is headed up by Nancy Handy, with lots of help from Shelley Erven, Marjorie MacQueen, Joan Bever, Shelley Erven, Anne Kendall, and Kim Savard.

Read for the Cure Foundation Inc. is a Canadian non-profit charity, operating in Canada only.

Toronto Committee Members: Back row, L to R, Emily Babiak, Donna Taylor, Jan Chepesiuk, Cathy Kostyniuk, Christine Biggar. Front row, L to R, Susan Culver, Laurel Warr, Sara Street

What we do

In October and November, we host a series of Author Events, which could best be described as a large book club meeting, complete with nibbles and a cash bar. We have created a unique format for these events, featuring three authors who speak about their work, rather than reading. After their individual presentations, a Question and Answer session offers an opportunity for our guests to find out more about their favourite authors. In addition, each guest goes home with copies of the three authors' books, courtesy of our Corporate Sponsor, Random House of Canada Ltd.

How you can Help

We would love to have you join us at our events in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa this fall. For many book clubs, our events are a special outing in place of their October or November meeting. Check our Events pages for details of each event, as they are finalized in the coming weeks. Then get your tickets and join us! Tickets go on sale in early June , 2012.