Numerous Grande Prairie schools made the Terry Fox Foundation’s Top 50 Fundraisers of Alberta list.
Whispering Ridge Community School nabbed the top spot in the elementary division after raising more than $12,500 during the annual fundraiser event.
Hilary Schmidt, one of two Assistant Principals at Whispering Ridge describes the event as a “tradition” in her school, something parents, teachers, and students all look forward to participating in.
“It’s just a tradition in our building,” she says. “We like to think that this fundraiser is one of our top ones that families feel the most strongly about raising money for a good cause.”
Schmidt credits the student body with their overwhelming participation in the event and says incentives like the pizza party for the class that raises the most money certainly helped in raising such a large sum of money this year.
“We always do a ton of competition for the class to see who can raise the most money,” she says. “I think teachers feel strongly about students knowing Terry’s story and how inspiring he is and the kids just love learning about him.”
Isabel Campbell Public School took home third place in the Elementary Division with more than $10,500 raised and Principal Matthew Pepper says collaboration was the key to the school’s success.
“We have four tenants here at the school- innovation, collaboration, perseverance, and success, and for me it’s that collaboration piece with our school council,” he says. “We had the community on board right from the start and it was our combined efforts between the parents, the students, and ourselves at the school to pull it off.”
When it comes to next year, Assistant Principal Schmidt says her school always tries to “match or beat” the previous year’s goal, so hopes are high to take home first place again.
