Walking for charity has given 103-year-old Guelph woman 'a reason to live'

There's a woman in Guelph, Ont. who has been dedicated to raising money for charity every year — and she just turned 103 years old earlier this month.

Her name is Orpha Thrasher and she has been doing the charity walk since her 100th birthday. 

She walks two kilometres every year at the Coldest Night of the Year fundraising event by Hope House Guelph. It's a walkathon where teams aim to raise thousands of dollars in support of local charities.

In fact, she's so dedicated to the yearly event she rarely misses one of her training sessions — she even spent her birthday training at an indoor walking track. 

"I never really stop... I'm ready all the time," she told CBC News during her birthday walk on Feb. 1 at Royal Distributing Athletic Performance Centre just north of Guelph.

"It isn't my life that matters so much, it's what everybody else is doing. Say you have a granddaughter that's expecting her first baby maybe two months from now: I want to stay alive 'til that happens."

Thrasher's team this year has nine members and they want to raise $5,000. She says this yearly fundraiser is her reason to keep living.

"You should always have something to look forward to because there are too many older people that give up when they're 80 or 85 and they just think 'oh, we're a blot on this society, we'll just pack it in because we're not gonna be able to do what we once did.' Well, you've got to have a reason to live. If you don't have a reason to live, you're not gonna wake up tomorrow morning."

'None of us have any excuses'

Jaya James is the executive director of Hope House Guelph, which offers various services and supports to people who are living in poverty and food insecurity. That includes connecting people to housing and shelter options, offering a clothing market, help with doing taxes, community projects like an affordable gift market and art programs and wellness programs like therapeutic horticulture and counselling services.

James says Thrasher inspires her and will continue to inspire all others who take part in the walkathon for years to come.

"If a 103-year-old individual is getting up to walk, pretty much none of us have any excuses," she said.

"She encourages people so much... she always has such wisdom to share. So we really appreciate that. It raises our profile within our community. So more people know about the event, pay attention to how they can participate in the event, whether it's volunteering, donating funds, or participating themselves in walking and raising funds. I love that Orpha chooses us."

Ruth Parent is Thrasher's second-oldest daughter. She says every year Thrasher walks, all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are cheering her on.

"When she got ahold of this and started walking leading up to her 100th birthday, it was like she became young again," Parent said.

"To actually have purpose in life and to know that you can still make a difference at 103 — I mean, that's crazy."