Glendale students donate $2,732 to Heart and Stroke
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Jordan Harrison, Evan Buchanan and Cam Weston did their big 'reveal' Friday afternoon for Jennifer Hassan, senior area manager of the Heart and Stroke Foundation's London and Chatham branch.
Presented on behalf of the three 2016-17 Glendale High School leadership class students, Friday's Heart and Stroke donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation totalled $2,732.55.
"Oh my goodness, thank you so much," said Hassan. "That's unbelievable."
The donation was made in memory of Andrew Brocanier (1992-2010), a family friend of the Harrisons.
"I think it's incredible, fantastic," said Robin Brocranier. "Right from the very moment I realized it was happening, it touched our hearts. My wife Valerie, and Taylor, and I are thrilled. Very proud of them."
"In a word, I would say this is very overwhelming and we're honoured that they chose us, our charity," said Hassan. "A lot of the money that we raise comes back into the community that we service, so it's exciting when you see these fundraisers put together, especially by a group like this. So young, so community-minded, it's just incredible."
'Speechless' was her reaction when they revealed the cheque for the first time.
"Absolutely speechless," she smiled. "I knew when Jordan phoned me after 24 hours and they had basically made their fundraising goal of $500, I knew I was in for a ride. I knew they meant business. I can't stress enough how incredible this is."
It all started in a Pam Grass GHS leadership class. Other student projects included mentoring elementary school students, Grade 9 mentoring at Glendale, food drives, coat drives, and more.
"We started out in class coming up with ideas," said Buchanan, "and I said why don't we just fund raise... because we couldn't think of anything. So then Jordan said, 'What about the Heart and Stroke? We could do it in Andrew Brocanier's name.'"
Buchanan and Weston agreed that was an "awesome idea." They hoped to raise $500 by selling lottery-style tickets at the school.
Harrison contacted Heart and Stroke to get approval.
"When he got off the phone he said, 'wow, they were so excited we're doing this... they asked if we wanted to sell hats,'" said Buchanan. "I said sure, that's more money we can raise. And the whole thing just took off. It blew up. Everybody wanted a hat. We had to get more and more and he (Harrison) kept calling back. 'We need more hats!' Mr. (Scott) Gooding, a Glendale guidance counsellor, he probably sold close to 200 on his own, maybe more than that."
Glendale teachers were very supportive, said Buchanan, and the students started buying in.
"It's for a good cause, it's not expensive, so why not? And they're good hats, too, for just $5. Everybody thought it was a good deal."
The red toques with a white heart became their main focus for a while, but daily draws held in December also ran smoothly. Buchanan noted they reduced ticket prices mid-month, which resulted in selling 'a bunch more' tickets.
"I think we were close to selling out," said Buchanan. "Everybody got their stuff, and we wrote thank you letters to all the prize donors. We had everything on our table donated."
"I think it's amazing," said Weston, who missed a week in late November with jaw surgery. "When I came back, it was all figured out, we were selling everything. It was amazing.
"When I left, before my surgery, we were just brainstorming ideas on what to do. And someone threw out the ticket sales idea. Then I came back and it was in full effect. I was blown away."
"Very, very successful," said Harrison. "It went a lot better than we had anticipated. At the end of the day, it makes me feel amazing. I go home smiling knowing that money we raised could potentially save lives."
"It felt awesome, especially at the Boston Pizza (kickback) night," said Buchanan, who was able to meet Robin and Val Brocanier for the first time. "To see everybody come together, and even contribute there, that was awesome."
In addition to raising funds for a good cause, Buchanan said the leadership project helped them learn to work better together.
"We developed skills from each other - Jordan's really good talking on the phone, so he did that stuff. Cam did a bunch of the GTV stuff (Glendale announcements). And I was better at the paperwork, so I did behind the scene work. It was really a team effort and I think we grew as a group."
"A team effort, for sure," Harrison summed up.