Gimli High School’s Student Voices group raised $1,314.75 — with donations still coming in — through a fundraiser held May 9 in support of global coral reef restoration.
More than 400 staff and students from Sigurbjorg Stefansson Early School, Dr. George Johnson Middle School and Gimli High School, along with community members, participated in a five-kilometre run — reduced to 2.5 kilometres for SSES — around Gimli.
Funds were raised for Coral Gardeners, an international organization committed to restoring coral reefs and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Grade 12 students Ava Michaluk and Vira Balaban organized the event on behalf of Student Voices, a group supported by the Kiwanis Club of Gimli. The Kiwanis provide both financial and volunteer support to help make student-led initiatives possible.
“It was so surreal to see the event we’d had planned in our heads for so many months actually happen,” said Michaluk. “The encouragement, enthusiasm and pride everyone had for themselves and each other is something I will never forget.”