The Grade 2 classes at Greentree School have taken the story of Terry Fox, one of few Canadian icons, to heart and will aim to break their nearly $5,000 fundraising goal in the upcoming community Terry Fox runs.
“I want them to know a Canadian who wasn’t a hockey player,” says Grade 2 teacher Cindy Gerodo.
“He was humble, selfless, and it is an incredible story of inspiration,” she said.
The Grade 2 classes have raised $40,000 in 14 years of participation.
“I’d want to cross Canada and give people money for cancer, too,” said Hadyn MacFadden, 6.
“The lasting thing I want them to remember is that they did help continue his dream and to be a part of a nationwide event.”
The largest amount the classes have raised in a single year was $4,863, and it’s the goal they will try to beat with their fundraising blitz that has already begun.
Terry Fox was 21 when he began Terry’s Marathon of Hope, where he ran 143 days along lonesome Canadian highways until he finally succumbed to cancer that eventually spread to his lungs in 1981.
Now it is a nation-wide event that sees every community and every school participate every year.
In the past, the Greentree Grade 2 classes had organized it for the community run, not the school run, so they continue to do so today.
Those students who volunteer learn about Terry Fox’s journey and it becomes a part of their curriculum to do service and learning with a community event.
“I’m so proud of Greentree School for being a part of this for the last 14 years,” said Gerodo.