Niagara Catholic District School Board

When the school year began, St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School principal Tim Atkinson got huge news from the Terry Fox Foundation.

The Grimsby school, which has a population of 202 students was ranked 74th out of 956 Canadian schools with fewer 250 students last year for donation amounts. Their 2024 donation to the Foundation - $3,300 – was enough to place them in the national top 10 percent of schools and first among schools with that population in Niagara.

So, they got ambitious this year – the 45th for the Terry Fox Run – and set a goal of $10,000, which would put them in line with last year’s top 25 schools, which raised between $5,500 and $18,600.

Principal Atkinson offered a few little incentives to students to keep the momentum going:

• $2,000 got each class an extra period of gym
• $4,000 meant they’d hold a special hat day
• At the hallway mark, the entire school staff would come together to sing O Canada
• At $8,000, Principal Atkinson pledged to dress in an inflatable dinosaur costume for morning and afternoon bus duty.
• And if they hit their goal of $10,000, he promised everyone a pizza party and that he’d shave his head in a special assembly at school.

By September 10, they were nearly half-way there, with $4,500 in collections from bake sales, lemonade sales, door-to-door campaigning, and from support from community businesses which put out jars to help St. Joseph hit its goal.

By September 12, they hit $5,825. Six days later, they’d surpassed their goal, raising $11,822. So, they reset their goal, hoping to raise $15,000.

Before noon on September 22, they’d raised $13,974. And on September 25, Atkinson honoured his commitment to shave his head, with a little help from students at the school.

As of September 29, the St. Joseph school community had raised an astonishing $16,592.25.

Across Niagara Catholic, schools participated in Terry Fox runs and walks – some in the community, and some at the school. We’re extremely proud of everyone who answered Terry’s call to complete his Marathon of Hope and thank everyone who supported our students.