Nearly 40 Grade 7 to 12 students at the École des Hautes-Plaines francophone school in Airdrie braved the wet snow and cold last night as a part of an annual fundraiser for the Airdrie Food Bank.
The students camped outside in makeshift tents and shelters for 24 hours and raised about $2,500 in monetary and food donations to the Food Bank.
“We are just overwhelmed by the efforts of these students,” said Danielle Domshy, a Food Bank representative who arrived at the school Friday morning to accept the donation. “Their resilience and their demonstration of leadership is as valuable…as the donations.”
The all-night fundraiser has been a staple of
École des Hautes-Plaines; for the past 13 years students have camped out all night to raise money.
Joelle Barrette, a teacher at the school who organized this year's fundraiser, said that in other years it has been held in December. The fundraiser date was switched to April this year so participating students roughing it outside didn't have to brave the wintry elements.
However, with the spring-time snow, students did not get off easy this year. The slush and the cold contributed to less than ideal conditions for sleeping outside, but surprisingly, some students still had an enjoyable 24 hours.
"Years before it used to get so humid inside, like it would drip inside the tent and you'd wake up shivering and shaking,” said Rachel, a grade 12 student who has participated in three Food Bank fundraisers. “I remember one year we had to go inside for a little bit to warm up. So, weather wise it was [good]. Conditions could have been better.”
Anna, another grade 12 student and veteran of five overnight camp outs, said that she and some of her fellow students have learned a lot of lessons about sleeping outside in the cold over the years.
“We were very warm for the first time because I think you gain a certain wisdom, as you do this event, so we made sure we had tons of insulation but because of the snow, we had a tarp over our tent, and the snow weighed down and broke the poles and I woke up and the pole was an inch above my face,” she recalled.
Both girls said that, despite the weather, they’d recommend participating in the fundraiser to any student. “It is the most fun event at the school I think,” said Anna. “You really learn a lot about each other and it's like a team bonding thing but with your class.”
Sarah and Lexie, two grade 7 students participating in their first 24-hour fundraiser, said that the time spent outside was worth it.
“Our tent started getting flooded with water and after dinner we had to take all our stuff and bring it inside,” said Sarah, who added that she decided to partake this year because the fundraiser sounded fun.
Lexie, who raised nearly $500 in donations herself, said that raising money for the Food Bank is a worthwhile cause.
“[I did it because] it helps the Airdrie Food Bank raise money because there are a lot of people struggling and it's tough times so I feel like by doing this it teaches us that we have to be grateful for what we have because not a lot of people have it,” she said.
The sentiment was shared by the older students as well. Anna mentioned that the fundraiser would not be possible without support from the surrounding community.
“It's amazing, it's super cool to see how your community can really take part in a fundraiser like this,” she said. “We wouldn't be able to do it without our neighbours and the community itself. It's cool to see how people rally around to help with a greater cause…it continuously amazes me how much a small group of people can do.”
