Arborg Early Middle School (AEMS)hit a new fundraising record for the Terry Fox Foundation last week, bringing in a total of $11,204.10 for cancer research.
AEMS teacher Cheryl Chwaliboga, who is a member of the Arborg Terry Fox Committee’s community run, said the early middle students did “another phenomenal job” this year raising funds for the foundation.
The fundraising initiative on Sept. 23 included an assembly at which students heard about Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope in which he ran for 143 days across eastern Canada to raise money for cancer research, having to stop when the cancer spread to his lungs. He died in 1981. School staff helped with the AEMS’s fundraiser by volunteering to have their hair cut in solidarity with cancer patients or getting a pie in the face.
Last year the early middle school — with the help of students at Arborg Collegiate — raised $10,000 for the foundation.
The Arborg and Bifrost-Riverton communities are stalwart supporters of the Terry Fox Foundation, which uses donor money for research efforts, including developing new therapies with the goal of one day finding a cure for cancer. The foundation has raised over $900 million and funded 1,300 cancer research projects as of April 2024, according to the foundation’s website.
Arborg and area was formally recognized this spring by Terry Fox’s brother, Fred Fox, who spent a day in the community visiting students and other community supporters of the foundation.
In addition to AEMS, Arborg Collegiate held its own Terry Fox fundraiser on Sept. 25 and the Arborg Terry Fox Run Committee held its annual community fundraiser on Sept. 14. All together, Arborg and people in the surrounding areas raised $42,035.94 for cancer research this year.
