As Pam Romain spoke about her experience with cancer, Tamryn Furger looked out into the crowd and saw a friend wiping away tears.
Furger walked around the stage, found her in the crowd and gave her a hug.
“Her mom’s going through treatment,” Furger said later. “I just wanted to be there for her.”
The moment perfectly summed up why the students at Christ the King had gathered Friday afternoon and evening for their annual Relay for Life fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Last year, Christ the King raised more than $146,000 during its event, making it the top school fundraiser in the country. At press time, this year's total was still being tallied.
“The community is so supportive,” said Furger, a member of the student organizing committee.
“Georgetown really gets behind this,” added Malcolm Egan, another of the student organizers. “There are so many Facebook pages, the Georgetown mommies group, my neighbourhood group, they all want to know what they can do to help. We just got an anonymous donation for $550.”
Among the fundraising opportunities on Friday was students paying to pie a teacher.
Romain, a teacher at Centennial Public School who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015, said it was a life-changing experience.
“I learned to see the bright side in anything,” she said.
Romain thanked the students for their efforts and let them know it was truly appreciated.
“A small but growing number of researchers are helping the ever-growing number of survivors to overcome the lasting effects of cancer,” she said, “so they can go on with happy and productive lives.”
