Summerland Secondary School’s Civics 11 Class is holding a Get Active Marathon as a fundraiser to help support a Syrian family.
The event consists of seven hours of physical activity and will be held at the school on May 27, from two to nine pm.
Helping to promote the event are students Aleah Nesdoly and Sarah Gottwald. They explained that their teacher Dave Stathers has a wall of projects at the school that have proved successful in the past.
The marathon was chosen by the class through a voting process and proved to be the most popular choice by far.
“We have a bunch of different activities,” explained Gottwald. “We have volleyball, yoga, walking, capture the flag and mat ball.
The activities will be held in the school gym and on the field.
During the seven-hour marathon, the participating students will rotate through each activity with only a 15-minute break in between and they will stop for one hour to have dinner.
A team of students are in the process of asking the community for donations for the event, such as pizza, snacks and water.
“We’re trying to raise $5,000, that’s our goal,” said Nesdoly.
The class also voted on where the proceeds from the marathon would be donated. They chose to donate to a Syrian family, rather than donating to the B.C. Children’s Hospital, which was their other option.
“I think it’s because it’s closer to us and it really involves our whole community,” explained Gottwald. “We get to see the results of it,” Nesdoly said. “It’s more local and we get to see it on a personal level because we all have Syrian students at our schools.”
Gottwald explained too, that Doug Holmes from the Summerland Refugee Sponsorship Group had come to speak to the class, which helped to motivate them in wanting to help.
Nesdoly also said that the Acting 12 class were graciously donating the proceeds from their upcoming production, The Real Inspector Hound, to the cause as well.
The play is being held on Thursday May 19 at Centre Stage Theatre at 7 pm and admission is by donation.
Those wishing to help the students in their fundraising efforts are encouraged to attend the play or to pledge money to the students taking part in the Get Active Marathon.