A long day ended with an accomplishment to be proud of.
A group of Grade 7 and 8 students of Lillian Berg School completed a 30 kilometre walk from the McIntosh Indian Residential School Memorial Site back to Lillian Berg School , in support of Walk For Wenjack on Thursday.
Student Charlie Debney talks about how it felt after the walk.
“The walk was really nice, it felt good to finish. We didn’t want to quit because we were already in it so far.”
The walk was further than anticipated, but as student Jack Spence says they were determined to complete the walk, no matter how long it took.
“It felt really accomplishing and just knowing we raised money for the Downie Wenjack Fund, felt good.”
Another student, Summer McKenney shares her thoughts from the day.
“Well I was tired, but it felt good knowing we raised over our goal of fundraised.”
Teacher Shannon Elliot and a student on their Walk for Wenjack.
The fundraising goal was 5 hundred dollars, but the class ended with 5 hundred and 45 dollars going towards the Downie Wenjack Fund.
Teacher Shannon Elliot says she has a determined group of students and couldn’t have asked for a better day.
“Along the way there was options if you needed a bit of a time out to take a ride and a lot of them would say nope, Chanie wouldn’t have gotten a ride so I’m going to keep walking. I’m so proud of them all.”
Elliot thanks everyone who donated to their fundraiser.
“We really liked when they left words of encouragement, I shared those with the class before and after the walk to keep us motivated and to show them how proud everyone in the community was for them. It’s an amazing accomplishment they achieved.”
The Downie Wenjack Fund supports various programs to further reconciliation, through awareness, education and action.
Chanie Wenjack ran away from a local residential school at the age of 12 in an attempt to return to his home in Marten Falls and subsequently died from hunger and exposure to the weather.
To make a donation, visit this link.
For more information on the Walk for Wenjack, click here.
We did it!! This is one determined group of young people! We walked from McIntosh IRS Memorial Site back to Lillian Berg…
Posted by Lillian Berg School on Thursday, October 22, 2020
