Today was an incredible day. I biked through the beautiful mountains from Kelowna, BC to Sicamous, BC; but I wasn't the only one biking. There were 15 people riding with me.
St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg, MB decided today was the day they were "Turning the Wheels with Wes". What started as an idea for a small fundraiser turned into something huge. From 8 a.m. (before many students were even arriving at the school) until 3:30 p.m. (when most of the kids were leaving) Larry Franz, the organizer and teacher, along with 14 students he rounded up, biked in half hour sessions for the entire day.
In order to ride, students were expected to raise pledges for Chase the Cure, but Mr. Franz and his gang didn't stop there. They also had a loonie jar for donations, so that passersby could drop a small donation at the riding site. A donation got them a ticket voucher which entered them to win a variety of donated Chase the Cure-related prizes. People were so generous, that many didn't leave just a loonie, and the jar was filled with almost $300 by the end of the day!! Plus, they sold t-shirts for us, too!! As if that wasn't enough, they played our TSN clip at the riding site the entire day, and gave us a lot of exposure.
Mr. Franz, his riders, and the many other generous people who contributed at St. Paul's today managed to raise over $3700 for the cause, and for that I am incredibly grateful. However, as awesome as their efforts were, and as generous at everyone at St. Paul's was today, I was even more affected by the personal lives they touched through their ride with their "Chase the Cure cards". Mr. Franz encouraged people coming by to write the name of a loved one who was/is being affected by cancer. The wall was plastered with cards and my heart goes out to all of you who had the strength to make your pain public. You are the reason we are doing this ride.
St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg, MB decided today was the day they were "Turning the Wheels with Wes". What started as an idea for a small fundraiser turned into something huge. From 8 a.m. (before many students were even arriving at the school) until 3:30 p.m. (when most of the kids were leaving) Larry Franz, the organizer and teacher, along with 14 students he rounded up, biked in half hour sessions for the entire day.
In order to ride, students were expected to raise pledges for Chase the Cure, but Mr. Franz and his gang didn't stop there. They also had a loonie jar for donations, so that passersby could drop a small donation at the riding site. A donation got them a ticket voucher which entered them to win a variety of donated Chase the Cure-related prizes. People were so generous, that many didn't leave just a loonie, and the jar was filled with almost $300 by the end of the day!! Plus, they sold t-shirts for us, too!! As if that wasn't enough, they played our TSN clip at the riding site the entire day, and gave us a lot of exposure.
Mr. Franz, his riders, and the many other generous people who contributed at St. Paul's today managed to raise over $3700 for the cause, and for that I am incredibly grateful. However, as awesome as their efforts were, and as generous at everyone at St. Paul's was today, I was even more affected by the personal lives they touched through their ride with their "Chase the Cure cards". Mr. Franz encouraged people coming by to write the name of a loved one who was/is being affected by cancer. The wall was plastered with cards and my heart goes out to all of you who had the strength to make your pain public. You are the reason we are doing this ride.
Thanks again to everyone at St. Paul's and everywhere else along the way who has shown this ride their amazing support. You know who you are, and we couldn't do this without you!
I'm blown away. More and more every day, I see how many people are riding along with me. I proudly say...
Together We Ride.
1 comment:
Beauty!!! Gotta love Mr. Franz He's always upto the challenge
Post a Comment