Vancouver, BC – On Valentines Day in 2006, Caleb Macey was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Burkitts Lymphoma. As he underwent chemotherapy treatments, the eight year-old artist expressed himself most vividly through his drawings.
Caleb, now 28, recently learned that one of his works – a golfer he was asked to draw for the annual Drive for a Cure golf tournament, organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union locals in BC – had become a charming symbol of the union’s ongoing commitment to raising funds for blood cancer research in partnership with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC).
Caleb’s diagnosis and treatment were extremely difficult times for the Macey family. “Caleb was always drawing,” recalls Caleb’s mom, Colleen. “On most days, we knew how he was doing based on what he was drawing.”
The Maceys decided to create a calendar featuring Caleb’s drawings as a way to raise funds. They got involved with many organizations in the blood cancer community.
“Back then, there wasn’t really that much support for kids with cancer in BC,” says Colleen. “But we were fortunate to receive so much help from our family, our church, and our community. We were also lucky to meet these people who I now call ‘the greatest group of people we wish we never had to meet.’”
Among those people were Rick O’Brien from LLSC and Dan Goodman, then a union representative with UFCW Local 247, who had seen Caleb’s calendar around the time he was organizing UFCW’s Drive for a Cure golf tournament.
Dan jumped at the opportunity to ask Caleb to create a logo for the tournament, which for the past 20 years has brought together members of the BC labour relations community to raise funds for blood cancer research.
“I remember being so excited about being asked to draw,” says Caleb. “Drawing people was outside of my comfort zone. But it’s trying that matters most.”
Reflecting on how blood cancer became a part of her world, Collen notes, “we were just shocked when Caleb was diagnosed. It wasn’t at all on our radar.”
The family was told that Caleb’s cancer was aggressive and that, if he had not started his treatments right away, it would have taken over within two days. “If it had been 10 years prior,” Colleen recalls, “the only option would have been to make him comfortable.”
“That’s why, for us, the research matters so much,” says Colleen. “While he still has impacts from his treatment 20 years later, we still so lucky. We also feel a great debt. There were folks we knew at that time whose outcomes weren’t like ours.”
Colleen and her family remain involved in fundraising and supporting others in their struggles with cancer. “Getting involved in fundraising has opened so many doors,” notes Caleb. “I’ve met my closest friends through it, and even my sister works in it now.”
Funding research and providing vital support services has been at the heart of LLSC’s work for 70 years. LLSC is regarded as the single largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancers in Canada.
Since 1985, UFCW Canada – both nationally and through the persistent activism of its locals and union members – has been a proud and active partner of LLSC, raising $54 million for blood cancer research. It’s a labour of love spanning 40 years (and counting!).
While the Drive for a Cure golf tournament alone has raised roughly $700,000 for LLSC over the past 20 years, UFCW’s BC locals haven’t stopped there. They regularly host and participate in fundraising events in support of the cause, such as the Cheers for a Cure pub night held each year in Delta, along with annual Light the Night events.
The bond between UFCW and LLSC in BC is best represented the persistent use of Caleb’s art, a consistent commitment connecting fundraising with real-life impacts.
“So over the past 20 years, we continued to use Caleb’s art as the logo for our golf tournament,” says Dan Goodman, now President of UFCW Local 247. “The little golfer guy has become a reminder of the real-life impact we can have when we support blood cancer research. It’s on our stuff every year, and when people ask about it, we tell them about Caleb and his family.”
Earlier this month, Dan reconnected with Caleb and Colleen, meeting up in Port Coquitlam along with LLSC BC Director Ben Neumer. They reminisced about their difficult times.
“I remember meeting Dan back then,” recalls Colleen. “He had a young family like ours. It was so cool to see him again, to see that he’s kept up his efforts through the years.”
Dan presented Caleb and Colleen with items used by the tournament featuring Caleb’s artwork, from hats and other clothing items to framed versions of his golfer image.
“Hearing about this is a real boost for us,” says Colleen. “I mean, that’s what union’s do: they lift people up.”
“We got in the car after meeting with Dan,” says Caleb. “We just looked at the drawing, thinking how people were really charmed by this. I remembered doing the drawing, and seeing Dan again, it was so long ago, but he was a familiar face. It was cool to take a moment to realize there are good people out there trying to help. And that’s what’s most important.”
Today, Caleb is 28 years old and works for the City of Port Coquitlam. He is a member of CUPE, and while he’s never taken to golf, he remains an avid artist.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) has been UFCW/TUAC Canada’s charity of choice since 1985, with 2025 marking the 40th Ruby Anniversary of this partnership. Labour of Love is a celebratory awareness campaign being launched nationwide on November 20, 2025, by LLSC and UFCW/TUAC. The past 40 years have brought the most dramatic progress in blood cancer survival and treatment — progress that UFCW/TUAC members have helped make possible. With discovery advancing faster than ever, the next chapter holds even greater promise. A new generation has the chance to carry this proud legacy forward — to keep building, helping, and leading, however you choose to get involved — by giving time, sharing your story, or leading a campaign — you keep our Labour of Love alive.
