Manachaban Middle School students will be hitting the streets of Cochrane for their annual Walk-A-Thon Friday, Oct. 24.
“We’re so thankful that the community is so giving,” said Frederick Taylor, one of the organizers of the event. “The town, the business community and parent volunteers – they all help us out a lot.”
Taylor has been a teacher at Manachaban for 27 years and said that they have been putting on the Walk-A-Thon for just over 40 years at the school.
He said the students raise funds for the walk by getting people to pledge money, and in the last few years they had raised about $10,000 to $15,000 per year.
Taylor mentioned that they would also have a raffle for two tickets to anywhere WestJet flies and said tickets could be purchased at the school for around $5, the same price they were last year.
Taylor said that the money they raise each year goes towards offsetting the cost of field trips, new equipment for the school, reading materials for the classroom, learning support materials and student resources.
He said this year they would have between 430 and 450 students from Grades 4 – 8 participating in the walk. The students begin at the school and walk through the Cochrane Ranche Historic site and then continue to Mitford Park, eventually returning to the school.
There will be parent volunteers guiding students and handing out water along the way. Taylor said the walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and is about eight kilometres with students finishing the walk in around two and a half hours.
He added that there would be a barbecue held at the school at the end and there would be prizes for students who raise the most money. For every $10 a student raises they get their name put into a draw for a number of prizes that are donated.
Over the years, Taylor said they have received support from a number of local organizations such as Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Mark’s No Frills, CO-OP in Royal Oak, Sweet Temptations, Donair on the Run and many more.
