Surrey girl raises hundreds of dollars for Terry Fox Foundation
Posted September 16, 2021 9:54 am.
Last Updated September 16, 2021 11:09 am.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – A little girl in Surrey has raised more than $1,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, and is hoping the community can help her collect more.
Aibry Clark is six years old. She goes to Lena Shaw Elementary.
“I feel good,” Aibry said Thursday morning, speaking to NEWS 1130 before class. “I just walked around the neighbourhood one house at a time.”
Her mother says Aibry brought home a piece of paper from school one day, reminding families of its Terry Fox Run, set for Friday. In the lead up to the run, the school was gathering money through “Toonies for Terry.”
“Right at the bottom of the form, the principal had written, ‘If you want to go make your own website, you can make your website and you can do your own personal fundraising,'” recalled Sarah Clark. “So I read it aloud to Aibry and she was super excited about it.”
Six-year-old Aibry Clark has been raising money for the Terry Fox Foundation by going from home to home to collect donations. (Submitted)
As it turns out, the cause hits close to home. Aibry’s father works in cancer research, so it’s something the family hears about often.
Clark tells NEWS 1130 Aibry was eager to get started, grabbing a Ziploc bag and heading right out the door to start collecting funds.
“We went around the neighbourhood and her grandparents’ neighbourhood now. It’s just what she wanted to do,” Clark explained, saying they must have covered close to 100 houses.
The family has even coming up with a solution for people who want to donate, but who don’t have cash.
“She wanted to print off little leaflet things, so we generated a QR code for her so that if people don’t have cash — because nobody has cash anymore — they can go online and donate,” said Clark, who notes her husband is a programmer and was able to help on the tech side of things.
Aibry’s mom tells me her daughter is one of the only kids at her school to start her own fundraising page for the Terry Fox Foundation.
“We’re super proud,” Sarah says, adding Aibry’s been the one “driving the whole thing.” pic.twitter.com/8bHTG7Y3kF
— Hana Mae Nassar (@HanaMaeNassar) September 16, 2021
It’s a proud moment for the Clarks, who have been told Aibry appears to be one of the only kids fundraising at Lena Shaw Elementary.
“It’s kind of a neat thing, and we really wanted to encourage her to do something good,” said Clark.
Aibry has until Friday to raise money, and her family is hoping the community will help.
“We’re super proud. It’s really good that she wanted to do this, and she’s the one who’s been driving the whole thing,” Aibry’s mom added, noting her daughter tries to get her going to collect donations any time they have a free moment.
As of Thursday morning, Aibry had raised $1,142 in cash and online, surpassing her initial goal of $300.
If you’d like to donate to the six-year-old’s fundraiser, you can do so here.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited to update the money raised.
