In her honour: Evelyn Roy's family raises funds for hospital parking passes

Sunday will mark three years since 11-year-old Evelyn Roy passed away from cancer, but the child's legacy continues to live on as her family aims to raise critical funds for those in need.

It's why the Team Evelyn Foundation, in partnership with the Helping Families Handle Cancer Foundation, is fundraising to cover the cost of parking passes at the Alberta Children's Hospital.

The goal is to provide enough passes to assist 250 families visiting their sick kids.

"I'll never forget the moment I was standing in the ER and the doctor was showing us CT scan images of a huge tumour in her abdomen," said Heather Roy, Evelyn's mother.

"At the time, my alarm went off on my phone, telling me that my parking was about to expire. I was so distracted and it just added to the stress that a family in that situation does not need to have."

The Roy family's fundraiser has already received more than $10,000 in donations as of Friday afternoon to cover the cost of nearly 150 parking passes valued at $72 each per month.

Although the cost might not seem like a hefty burden, Heather says many families with sick kids are forced to resign from their jobs, like she had to when Evelyn was receiving treatment for Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

Evelyn had a deep passion for helping others during her life, having started a toy drive at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and this recent initiative is something her family knows she'd be proud of.

"I remember when Evelyn started that fundraiser, she would say, 'It would be so much easier if.' So we took those 'ifs' and started putting them into action," Heather said.

"Evelyn believed in community and caring for other people, so this is a tangible way to show up for other families who are experiencing what we experienced. She was one of those kids that always drew people in, always bright and cheerful, playing music and having dance parties with her surgical teams."

Evelyn's father, Mike Roy, agrees that his daughter's life will forever be remembered for her acts of kindness and spreading joy.

"She just wanted to lighten the load for other people and the kids around her because a lot of the time during treatment, they're in isolation," Mike said.

"She would communicate with other patients with walkie talkies and keep them company. She just really wanted to help."

'(Evelyn) just wanted to lighten the load for other people and the kids around her.' -Mike Roy

MAKING AN IMPACT FOR FAMILIES IN NEED

The Helping Families Handle Cancer Foundation is supporting Team Evelyn in reaching its fundraising goals as the organization aims to cover as many expenses as possible to help those with loved ones in hospital.

Executive director Carie Stock is a childhood cancer survivor who founded the organization in 2008.

She says her mother, Robyn, a then-single parent, would spend endless days making the hospital a second home.

"These families are going through what will be the hardest thing that they'll have to endure in their lives and it's a lot of stress," Stock said.

"All we want to do is try and alleviate that pressure a little bit and give them a breath of fresh air to help them out during that experience."

Over the course of the past 13 years, the Helping Families Handle Cancer Foundation has raised more than $1 million to cover the cost of rent, gas, groceries, utility bills, hospital parking and other expenses for those in need.

Stock says her mother is now battling cancer, but she knows any amount of support that can be offered goes a long way to helping during the treatment process.

"It's always going to be hard, but if we can put a little bit of a bright light out there and kind of pay it forward to other families who are going through it, it's just a wonderful thing to be able to do," she said.