A pair of Squamish Grade 3 students recently turned a sleepover at grandma's house into an honest-to-goodness good deed - to the benefit of the Terry Fox Foundation's effort to eradicate cancer.
Kaylee Turner-Barden and Kaitlyn Wittow, both 8, had just learned about Terry Fox and his incredible Marathon of Hope, both in school and at home, on a recent Friday. The two were having a sleepover at Kaylee's grandmother's house on Meadow Avenue in Brackendale when, apparently, a lightbulb went on.
"My granddaughter, it seemed, didn't know that Terry Fox was a real person and we said, 'Yeah, Terry Fox was a real person,'" said Turner-Barden's grandmother, Sue Barden.
"We had dinner and just out of the blue, they got out a clipboard and said they were going out to raise donations for Terry Fox."
The two were only allowed to visit about eight homes on Meadow Avenue - only as far as Barden could see from her yard, she said.
"They were pretty excited when they got back and (Kaylee) said, 'Oh, I think we've got lots of money,' and when we opened up the piggy bank, it was incredible.'"
Thanks to their initiative and to neighbours' generosity, the two raised $50. Barden said the money was divided equally, placed in Terry Fox Foundation envelopes, brought to the girls' schools - Kaylee goes to Squamish Elementary and Kaitlin attends Brackendale - and added to the schools' donation boxes.
"They're really excited about it," Barden said.
