Leadership students at Mission Secondary School raised hundreds of dollars to get their principal peddling on the roof of the school and keep him there for at least six hours.
Principal Jim Pearce began riding the stationary bike loaded with water and snacks on the lower part of the building’s roof at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning.
By close to 11 a.m., he had already travelled more than 70 km and he is expected to reach a couple of hundred kilometres before the day is done.
“I love this stuff,” said Pearce, who enthusiastically supported the class’ project to raise funds for the Because I Am A Girl organization.
The goal was to raise $100 to get Pearce to take on the challenge, and $15 every hour to keep him there until end of the school day. Donations were collected from students and staff in the school.
Throughout the year, leadership students in Grades 10 to 12, come up with ideas to raise funds for non-profit organizations, said teacher Mike Schneider.
The class, made up of about 30 students, has already supported Greenpeace, Unicef, Canadian Red Cross, and Cops for Cancer this year.
As part of the class curriculum, students also educated the rest of the school population on their causes.
Because I Am A Girl supports education and health initiatives for girls in developing countries.
