Post date: Jul 17, 2017 4:45:19 PM
Overview of the Campaign and the Foundation
A whooping amount of 466,881$ was raised in Scona's 2016/2017 Hope in Motion Campaign. Every year, Strathcona High School (Scona) launches its fundraising and service efforts campaign in support of a chosen local or even global organization. This year, the students have voted and the school has partnered with the Jack Davis Hope Foundation. The Jack Davis Hope Foundation is an Edmonton based organization that aims to financially support families that are in need to support their ill children.
Donation and Fundraising Groups
Students arrange themselves into groups of approximately seven and each group has to raise a minimum amount. The groups that raise the most amounts get better spots and 'rooms' in the gym where the official bikeathon event will occur This is a very useful method as students will be motivated to raise more and more money to get better spots in the gym.
Official Bikeathon Day
While all the previous days of fundraising are of importance, the Bikeathon day is the celebration day for the students. The end of the Bikeathon also signifies the end of the yearly campaign. In the Bikeathon day, each group gets to come and personalize their assigned room space in the gym. The Bikeathon is a 24 hour event day. Students will have to stay in the school perimeter for the whole day (24 hrs) and each group is also given a bike that has to be rolling for the whole day.
Significance of the Bike
The bikes assigned to the groups have to be rolling for the whole day. Group members alternate in turns. The purpose of the Bikeathon is to help those in need. Rolling the bikes for 24hrs is a tiring activity which also gives us just a simple jest of what the injured and the ill are experiencing. We feel their pain and get inspired and motivated to help and support the organization we are partnered with.
Events at the Bikeathon
Obviously, Bikeathon is not just about rolling a bike, it is also a celebration for the efforts of the students. A wide variety of events and activities are found throughout the school. Those events are not in the gyms and so students could leave and go to a room. Last year, there were many interesting rooms including a movie room, a Mario Kart video gaming room, and even a puppies room. Students can participate in as many events as they want contingent that another group member is rolling the bike in the gym.
The Role of Teachers in Fundraising
In addition to their participation in the actual Bikeathon, teachers also had roles in the fundraising prior to the actual event. Each department in the school came up with their unique ideas to fundraise around the school. For example, the math department baked pies and sold them to students in the school. This day has come to be known as Pi (π=3.14) day. The Social departments also sold food (tacos) in the school. This day has also become to be known as Taco in a Bag day. The other departments (languages, sciences) had other fundraising ways and methods and this shows that the Bikeathon event was not limited to student only, but was the joint effort of the whole Scona community.
Conclusion
The motto of Strathcona High School is "as one who serves". We, the Scona students, are serving our community and aiding those that are in need through our efforts in the whole initiative. As stated earlier, we have succeeded in raising more than 450,000$ for the Jack Davis Hope Foundation and this is considered to be the biggest high school fundraiser in Canada.
I hope that the future students continue to promote this campaign and who knows, we may hit the 1 million mark one day.
Note: I will post the Scona Initiative Campaign website under links and resources.