A grey, cloudy sky didn’t stop a rainbow of colours from floating through the air in H.E. Bourgoin Middle School’s first colour run.
Participants young and old in the Fantastic Fun Colour Run headed down Jessie Lake Trail on Friday, June 1. Organized by the H.E. Bourgoin School student leadership class, the event focussed on bringing the community together to have fun fundraising.
“The idea originated from students. I teach a leadership class called Take Action. Students look at things in our community that they’d like to improve on, or initiatives they’d like to begin,” explained Grade 6 teacher Vonda Worthman.
One of the students behind the idea was Sienna Latta, who noted they were looking for something unique that they could start for local residents.
“We were looking on YouTube, searching for things to do in our community, and we found the colour runs. We thought we could do it.”
What started as a school event quickly snowballed into a bigger idea. With the support of Worthman, and other staff members at H.E.B., six months ago planning for a community-wide colour run kicked into high gear.
Starting at H.E.B. school, participants were given colour run bags complete with white T-shirts – perfect for catching all of the colours – as well as bracelets, colour packets, and other goodies. From there, they travelled down to the Jessie Lake Trail, and through various colour stations. At each, sponsor groups had bottles filled with different coloured powder to spray at passing runners.
With a rainbow from head-to-toe, participants headed back to the school where they were met with a barbecue and bouncy houses after crossing the finish line.
While registrations for the first event got off to a slow start, by the day-of there were well over 200 people signed up for the colour run.
For the student organizers, it was great to see the community supporting them.
“I’m surprised with how many people we got,” said Latta.
Fellow Take Action student Ethan Zdebiak added, “And we’re really happy with how many sponsors we got.”
The leadership class, lead by Worthman, is comprised of approximately 25 students. Each of the smaller groups within the class develop their own initiatives and ideas they’d like to put into action.
“We want to be part of it because we can organize fun activities that everyone can do. Then, depending on how many people come, we know if we wanted to do it again,” said Zdebiak.
Worthman expressed, “That’s what I like about Take Action. They think of the idea, it’s their initiative, and they get to see it from start to finish. After it’s over, we’ll reflect on it; what went well, what didn’t go well.”
An opportunity to bring the community together, the event was also a chance for the student leadership group to do some fundraising. The proceeds raised from the colour run will help support the cost of H.E.B. attending the WE Day Leadership Conference, which is being held in Edmonton on Oct. 12.
“It’s a day of inspiration,” said Worthman. “It’s students learning that they can make changes, and do it themselves. They get to be motivated and inspired by other youth leaders from around the world.”
Student organizer Chloe Johnson noted it’s a fitting cause, “Making change is kind of what made the colour run happen.”
Pleased with the success of H.E.B.’s first Fantastic Fun Colour Run, and the support they received from the community, the group said they’re already planning for next year.
