Students go hungry to raise funds for Nepal

By Allison Vail - Ladysmith Chronicle

Students at Ladysmith Secondary plan on going hungry to build a school in Nepal.

The School for a School group, along with STAAR (Students Taking Action Against Racism) are raising money through a 30 hour fast. They are fundraising and committing to going 30 hours without eating.

The fast starts at 6 a.m. on April 15, and finishes at noon on April 16.

“I’ll assume it will be tough,” said Stuart Armstrong, one of the event organizers.

Plenty of funds are needed.

“Originally we needed $17,000,” said Armstrong, noting the price has gone up this year and now the students need to raise $38,000 to build a school. “We won’t be able to [reach] that this year.”

He said they may have to join Ladysmith’s funds with another school that hasn’t raised enough money to build a school.

This is year two for fundraising for a school. STAR was running the project, but this year there was no one to do it and School for a School was formed.

“This year no one was going to take it over, so we did,” said Trevor Burton.

“If we didn’t it would have just ended,” Armstrong said. “We wanted to finish our own project.”
Earlier in the school year, School for a School held a Nickels for Nepal coin drive and raised money through a concession at the senior boy’s basketball Island tournament.

Students are collecting pledges for the fast, and those who get more than $50 are going to stay overnight at the school and participate in a spelling bee, perhaps watch a movie and play board games.

“It’s a lot to organize,” said Kieran Tombs. “And it’s a lot of work to do. It has been a challenge but at the same time it’s been very rewarding.”

He said they wanted to build a school to give people an opportunity to learn at the same level as LSS student do.

Armstrong said he thinks the 30 hour fast will be the most successful fundraising event of the year at the school.

Students can sign up to participate right up to April 15.

Donations from the community can also be made at the school at 250-245-3043.

Including this year’s fast, the total donations should reach more than $10,000.