BARRHEAD - STARS Air Ambulance will be able to make two more flights to rural Alberta thanks to the efforts of Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) students.
In early December, a group of BCHS held a wake-a-thon where students played videos and assorted board and card games such as Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, raising $7,002 for STARS Air Ambulance.
The students presented the cheque to STARS flight nurse Barb Atkinson at a ceremony at the school on Dec. 15.
Atkinson thanked students for their efforts, noting throughout her 50-year nursing career, the last 25 with STARS, she has stayed up all night, albeit for other, less fun circumstances.
"People do not realize how expensive a STARS response is," she said, adding in addition to the cost of purchasing and maintaining a helicopter, equipping it with medical equipment and paying for staff and their training, things people don't think of having costs attached to them.
"We have to pay $25 a tank for oxygen, our helmets are about $1,500, and our flight suits are $350. Your donation will go a long way in helping someone in rural Alberta receive the urgent medical treatment they need." Atkinson added that the students' donation would cover the costs of about two STARS flights.|
Grade 12 students Brielle Airey, Alex Detert-Lamothe, and Jayden Bryant were three of the event's main organizers.
"We were looking for something that we could put on, especially for kids who are not athletes, strong academics and meet more of their interests and raise money for a good cause," Airey said.
The trio said they chose STARS Air Ambulance partly because of teacher supervisor Alix deBeaudrap's connection with the charity but primarily because of the importance of the service to rural communities like Barrhead.
Participants raised money by collecting pledges from friends and family and going door-to-door, said Bryant, saying they set a minimum donation of $20 to participate in the event.
"But most went well above that. We had some players raise some big totals," she said.
Detert-Lamothe agreed, saying one participant raised $1,165.
He added that the students also approached local businesses asking for sponsorship to keep costs down, adding Pembina West Co-op, Freson Bros., Barrhead Bakery, Barrhead Sound, Barrhead and District Family Community Support Services, Barrhead CARES all provided in-kind support whether it be providing prizes, meals or contributing to the concession.
"People in the community realize the importance of the STARS service," Detert-Lamothe said. "I don't think I got any no's."
Bryant added that although their main purpose was to raise money for a worthy cause, they were also looking to give students another activity in the wake of COVID.
"We lost a lot of the fun things we used to do because some of the teachers that we had before the pandemic that sponsored clubs or groups have moved on, or there is no longer the funds available," she said.
Bryant added that due to the lockdowns and restrictions, they also lost much of the student expertise and experience that did not have the opportunity to mentor replacements before they graduated.
She noted there was a group of students who had organized a similar video game marathon when she was in Grade 8, but they had since graduated and, therefore, essentially had to plan the event from scratch.
Although Detert-Lamothe said recent BCHS grad Tristan Ambsaugh did return to help organize the video game and board game tournaments.
Which was no small feat, especially given the short timeline. deBeaudrap said that planning for the event began in November.
As for the logistics of putting on the event, the trio said they utilized three gymnasiums and the library, home to the previously mentioned tournaments. One gym was devoted to the video game room; another was open to the kids to play sports as a quick pick-me-up, while the organizers set up the remaining gym as a quiet or sleeping space. They also said that they utilized part of the cafeteria to house a concession, the proceeds of which also went to STARS.
With the event's success, the trio said they hope some of the younger students involved in the wake-a-thon will take up the mantle and make the event an annual tradition.
