Revelstoke Secondary School’s Toonies for Terry run kicks off school spirit

Revelstoke Secondary School (RSS) set the tone for this year’s school spirit with their Toonies for Terry Fox run Friday, Sept. 20, raising over $500 for The Terry Fox Foundation and cancer research. Students and staff donated cash in the days leading up to the event and participants walked, rolled and ran the Illecillewaet Greenbelt walkway, donning red shirts donated by RSS’ Parent Advisory Council. The fundraiser and run was organized by the RSS Student Leadership program, a group of students and staff who have taken on the planning of the Toonies for Terry run for the last three years.

“As soon as we get into leadership [program] meetings it’s Terry Fox run right away,” leadership program member Kimberly Poirier told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “We have half a month to plan it out along with classes taking place.”

The run is one of the first major events for the school year and helps introduce students to the leadership program which takes new members throughout the year, leadership program member Andy Nguyen told Revelstoke Mountaineer. He joined the program after 2023’s Terry Fox run and has school connections as his focus for this year.

“We’re hoping to build a better school spirit and connect the students more with community members,” Nguyen said.

Terry was only 19 when first diagnosed with cancer, making his story relatable for Canadian high schoolers, leadership program member Paxkal Carib Consuegra Higgins told the Mountaineer. For a generation born decades after Terry’s passing, his status as a Canadian hero still stands. RSS’ Toonies for Terry Fox run started with an assembly where Carib Consuegra Higgins shared with peers the meaning behind Terry’s legacy, focusing on his passion for sports and the diagnosis and surgery threatening that passion.

“Can you imagine how much it would really mean,” Carib Consuegra Higgins asked, explaining the effects losing the ability to achieve your passion could have on someone.  “You just don’t think about it in your days.”

Keeping students at the centre of the Toonies for Terry Fox run is vital to engaging them with the story, leadership program teacher Giselle Trepanier said.

“I think that speech alone, when it’s coming from a peer to a peer, really makes an impact. I think that was one of the best things to kick off the Terry Fox run this year. Then you see the kids hit the door and feel like they have a cause.”

The RSS Student Leadership program initially started as a high school opportunity. Recently the program has accepted Grade Nine students, creating a larger body of students eager to work not only on the Toonies for Terry event, but other initiatives throughout the school. It’s helped the program overcome previous struggles of not having the human resources to carry out events such as school dances, bake sales and more.

“So far, the Grade Nines have been great,” Carib Consuegra Higgins said. “They’ve just been really upbeat, very happy to help. I’m excited for that.”