Students from Strathcona High School’s Leadership Program came together and shattered their goal of $200,000 to fight poverty in Edmonton and in Ecuador by raising $352,000 in just five weeks!
Through their Treehouse Project, the students raised enough funding that will provide housing for the homeless in Edmonton through Bissell Centre’s Housing Options Program (HOP) and the construction of an ecotourism lodge that will not only protect the rainforst in Ecuador but will alleviate poverty for the Siona people through Change for Children.
The students rallied the local community securing partnerships with the City of Edmonton Task Force to End Poverty and with local businesses. The fundraiser was launched on February 11th and was capped off with a 24 hour bike-a-thon starting on March 19th where 114 fundraising teams of students, plus volunteers, teachers, and alumni, rode stationary bikes in the Strathcona High School gymnasium with Mayor Don Iveson also participating at the main event. In total, 1,135 riders culminated in the high school gym with the closing ceremonies and a cheque presentation taking place the next day on March 20th.
We are very grateful to be a part of such an amazing fundraiser from young leaders who have worked hard to provide new opportunities for the homeless to be housed in Edmonton and for economic development that will protect the homes of impoverished people in Ecuador for generations to come.
For more information about this amazing fundraiser, please visit www.fundraise.sconainitiative.ca.
Check out the uplifting recap video above. Inspiring!