Fundraiser strikes against cancer
Deh Gah School smashes fundraising target, hits $2,000
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 5, 2015
DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
When Deh Gah School was contacted by a former Fort Providence resident last month who was participating in Run For The Cure, students and staff decided to give it their all.
The Grade 5/6 class at Fort Providence's Deh Gah School raised more than $1,000 to donate to breast cancer research recently. - photo courtesy of Thorsten Gohl
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October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Canada. For Deh Gah School, fundraising took the form of a class challenge to see who could raise the most money in four days.
"People have been touched in one way or another by cancer and we did it for the love of someone near and dear to our hearts," said Margaret Thom, the school's counsellor.
Staff are not publicizing the name of that special person due to privacy reasons.
The school set a target of $1,500 but ended up bringing in more than $2,000 by the time fundraising was finished.
All classes participated, raising between $100 and $1,000 each.
The Grade 5/6 split class brought in the most at $1,072.05.
Fundraising events included a pancake breakfast, raffles and "bake sales, bake sales and more bake sales," Thom said.
"The little kindergarteners even brought in their pennies -- it was so sweet. That was what it meant to them. It really was worth every penny," she said.
Parents chipped in as well, with one parent setting up a Facebook challenge and another donating hats crocheted in the colours of the breast cancer awareness campaign, which were then raffled off.
The number of people who turned out was "amazing," Thom said.
The winning class walked away with a pizza party, courtesy of school cook Veronica Bonnetrouge. Class 5/6 teacher Tori Stevenson said her students held a bake sale after school as well as a pizza sale and brought treats for sale around to the health centre and band office.
Her 18-student class enjoyed their pizza party after the Thanksgiving break.
"They all chipped in 100 per cent. The whole class banded together and the results were awesome," she said. "We decided we were really going for it and would try to be the winning class; that was our goal right from the get-go."
When the winning class was revealed during the morning announcements broadcast, Stevenson said the cheers of excitement could be heard all the way into the hallway.
"It was pretty cool. The kids were so happy," she said.
The money was raised for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, which hosts Run For The Cure every year.
An exact amount raised by Deh Gah School was not available at press time.
