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Belmont students raising money for Humboldt Broncos families

Class selling green and yellow ribbons by donation
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Belmont Secondary students Dylon Wilson (left to right), Gabby Lindsay-Dickson, Eleric Woodward, Austin Turner, Tia Cable, and Zack Fischer show off the green and yellow ribbons they made to support victims of the Humboldt Broncos crash. (Kendra Wong/News Gazette staff)

Belmont Secondary students are doing their part to help the families of the 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos who were killed after a collision between a bus and a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, as well as the survivors who are still fighting for their lives.

Students in the school’s Individual Modified Programs to Acquire Choices for Transitions (IMPACT) program have made green and yellow ribbons in support of those affected by the April 6 tragedy.

“[I was in] disbelief. I was in shock that everyone in the country went through,” said teacher Angela Secord. “To lose pretty much half your team, that’s hard, especially since we have a hockey academy here [at Belmont] and so many of the women I work with, almost all of their kids are in hockey. It’s a hockey country.”

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After seeing images of the crash that has since claimed the lives of 16 players and staff of the Humboldt Broncos, education assistants Nikki Arseneault and Tamara Fisher came up with the idea of the ribbons. From there Secord ran with the idea and helped buy the coloured ribbons.

On Wednesday, the 10 students in the class and teachers spent the afternoon putting a couple hundred ribbons together to be sold to other students, teachers, staff and the public by donation.

So far, they’ve sold more than half of the ribbons with people donating anything from a quarter to $10, and have raised more than $300.

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All the proceeds will go towards the GoFundMe page to support victims of the crash and their families. The campaign has raised more than $9 million in five days and has become one of the largest GoFundMe campaigns in history.

“We wanted to do the ribbons to support the Humboldt Broncos and support the families,” said Grade 11 student Tia Cable.

Grade 9 student Eleric Woodward went around to a few classrooms to let help spread the word about the local initiative. “I told them we were making these to remember the young adults that passed away,” he said.

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Belmont students aren’t the only ones doing their part. Colwood resident Rod Hurst raised $5,800 when he auctioned off a mounted arena seat from the old Boston Garden, a piece he had planned to display in his soon-to-open collectibles shop, Bear’s Den Trading Post in Coombs.

On Thursday, thousands of people around the West Shore donned jerseys and put hockey sticks outside their front doors in show of support as well.


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kendra.wong@goldstreamgazette.com