Candace Sutherland, a 16-year-old resident of Winnipeg, hasn’t spent her summer vacation relaxing. Instead, she left Winnipeg on foot July 1 and is running all the way to Thompson to raise awareness and support for people living in poverty.

Sutherland has been running since she was eight years old, and has already won five marathons. At 13, she was the youngest person ever to compete in the Run Manitoba marathon. She says she wanted to do a run for poverty because she says there are many children living under the poverty line in Manitoba and throughout the country.

“I’ve been through it. I see in Winnipeg lots of kids that live in poverty. When people step up to it and work with it, it starts to go away,” she explains.

So far, Sutherland has raised 10,000 pounds of food, running during the day and sleeping on campgrounds or on the side of the highway in a tent.

“It’s actually been really well. I expected it to be harder, but it’s been pretty good and it’s just now starting to take a little toll on my body, but it’s been good,” she says.

The food Sutherland is collecting will go to Manitoban reserves, friendship centres and Winnipeg Harvest. She is set to arrive in the city of Thompson on July 21 at 9:30 at NCI FM after doing a loop of the city. Sutherland is encouraging residents of the city of Thompson to drop off food donations to her cause at NCI FM that morning.

“Other people need your help, and a little bit goes a long way,” she implores. “We have to have more healthy children. They’ll become productive when they see people doing stuff like that – they’ll want to help them.”

Sutherland will also be running across Canada to raise money for cancer, diabetes, heart and stroke and the Salvation Army. That run kicks off in Newfoundland on Feb. 26, which is also Sutherland’s birthday, and the runners plan to end up in Victoria, B.C. 11 months later.