It is a Canadian Tradition built around a Canadian hero, and support for the Terry Fox School run in the area remains strong.
The Annual Terry Fox School run is a tradition that pays tribute to Terry Fox, an 18-year-old man who lost his leg to cancer. On April 12, 1980, he began his Marathon of Hope by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean with the goal of crossing the country. His Marathon of Hope ended on September 1, 1980, after running 5,373 kilometres.
Today, his hero’s journey is still celebrated, especially in schools, and the event continues to be a great fundraiser for Cancer.
Morrin School will be holding their Terry Fox School run on Thursday, September 19, at 2 p.m. Teacher Michelle Jarvis organizes the event for the school. She says each classroom teacher discusses Terry Fox, what the run is for, and we all wear a sticker that states “Terry ran for me, I’m running for him.”
The school has set a goal of raising $1,000.
“Being a small school, and there always being a lot of fees, registration fees for extracurricular and club activities in September, we ask every student and staff member to please donate a “Toonie for Terry” or a “Five for Fox”. Of course more may be donated, and we also have an online link where friends, families, and community members may donate,” said Jarvis.
Community members are welcome to join.
Greentree School will be doing their Terry Fox School run on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 25. The school has set a fundraising target of $1,500.
Organizer Penny Messom explains the classroom will attend a virtual presentation and learn about Fox in class. They will also be hosting a guest speaker from the Terry Fox Foundation.
The students can fundraise online, and the class with the highest donations will win a popcorn party. If they meet their goal, the top three fundraising classes will have the students’ names drawn to dump buckets of water on administration at an assembly.
This will be the 20th consecutive Terry Fox run At St. Anthony’s, and the school has consistently been one of the top fundraising schools in Alberta, NWT and Nunavut.
Their walk is also on Wednesday, September 25. On that day, they will have a guest speaker at an assembly and then take on the route. They encourage students to wear school colours on the event day.
One of the fundraising efforts they have undertaken is selling freezies at lunchtime, and have already raised over $300. They have set a goal of $5,000 for the walk but often beat that, last year surpassing $14,000.
