Columneetza Junior Secondary School had some impressive results for their Terry Fox Run fundraising.
This year, staff and students came together for a week-long fundraising event, focused on raising awareness about cancer and gathering donations for the Terry Fox Foundation. The idea was simple—get students running for a week and encourage donations through a friendly competition between classes.
Throughout the week, students participated in "Terry Laps," running a 400-meter loop during a 15-minute period each day. Each loop a student completed counted as one "Terry Point," and any money donated to their class also counted as one Terry point, one dollar for one Terry point. The class with the most points at the end of the event earned a pizza party and the honour of signing the cheque to be donated to the Terry Fox Foundation.
As a school, Columneetza set an ambitious goal: to raise $800, which would fund one full day of cancer research, and to collectively run 500 laps (200 km) in Terry Laps.
The staff and students far exceeded these expectations, raising a total of $1,279, and students completed an incredible 3,485 laps, totalling 1,394 km.
On the day of the Terry Fox Run, 150-200 students ran 4.4 km, while an additional 400-500 students walked, contributing another 1,500 km. In total, the school covered an impressive 2,911 km, a distance roughly equivalent to running from Williams Lake to Thunder Bay Ontario.
The donations and distance covered were remarkable, but what stood out most was the heartfelt impact of the event. We witnessed students giving generously, driven by a sincere desire to make a difference.
Many students ran their laps in regular clothes, faces red with effort, but determined to do their part.
This event brought out the best in students—their selflessness, generosity, and care for others shone through in every lap and every donation.
At the Terry Fox school assembly, staff made a call to action: asking all students and staff, if they had the means to donate at that moment, to bring any money they had to the front of the assembly and give what they could.
With only 90 seconds to put the money in the Terry donation bin, in those 90 seconds, the school raised $430.
Students gave in all sorts of ways: bracelets, offering toys, shiny rocks out of their pockets, and asking what they can do to help.
There were student’s giving $1.05 in nickels and students giving up to a $100.
The spirit of Terry Fox lives on in our school community, and we couldn’t be prouder of the incredible efforts of both students and staff. Together, the school not only surpassed our goals, but also embodied the values of compassion, perseverance, and hope that Terry Fox continues to inspire.
Please recognize just how remarkable young people are. As an educational community, we are honoured to play an essential role in shaping these incredible students, these amazing kids—your kids. Together with everyone’s help, we are building a brighter future for all, one step at a time. To all Williams Lakers, to all cancer survivors and supportive family members: Columneetza cares.
John Sheppard is a teacher at Columneetza Junior Secondary School in Williams Lake
