Teen raises money one step at a time, literally
While Stacey often spends time strumming her guitar, running up and down the court playing basketball, or hitting the slopes with her snowboard, this summer she took her love for sports and channeled it into charity.
To celebrate her birthday, Stacey set a goal of 100 km for the Isolation Run—an initiative meant to encourage people to stay active during the pandemic, while simultaneously raising donations for hospitals and frontline staff.
So, on top of her distance goal, Stacey also wanted to raise $1,000.
She exceeded her own expectations, raising more than $3,000 to donate to Holland Bloorview.
Why did you decide to participate in Isolation Run?
I wanted to motivate people to stay active, while also raising money and awareness. After brainstorming, I came up with the idea to challenge myself to run 100 km over the course of a month leading up to my birthday. While I am quite athletic, I am not a regular runner so this was a challenge for me. The Isolation Run allowed me to build my own fundraising page, set goals, and choose the organization that I wanted to support. Unfortunately, I cannot personally volunteer my time in the ways I would like amidst COVID-19, so I decided that this was the next best way to help my community and make a meaningful impact.
What has been the biggest challenge during these runs and what have you learned?
The most difficult aspect of this challenge was finding the discipline to go for a run almost every day. While there may have been days that I lacked motivation, having set a public challenge for myself I found the drive to go out even when I wasn’t in the mood. It was also a challenge to schedule the runs around school work and homework but this helped improve my time management skills. From these challenges that I experienced, I learned the importance of planning ahead and living up to my commitments.
Why Holland Bloorview?
After much consideration and research about which organization I wanted to help, I came across Holland Bloorview. The services they provide are incredible and I feel honoured to support such an amazing organization. I feel connected to helping children as I have volunteered with youth with disabilities in the past and found it extremely fulfilling. This was also a way to help children again at a safe distance.
And lastly, what do you want your donation to do?
I would love it if the money went to some tangible items that can be used to help the Holland Bloorview patients.
