Students helping Richmond teacher trek Inca Trail for children’s charity

She’s never done anything like this before, but she’s got the full backing of the student council behind her.

MacNeill secondary vice principal Sarah Garr is well into her preparation for a stamina-sapping, four-day trek along the Inca Trail in Peru in August, as part of a Summits of Hope (SOH) trip in aid of BC Childrens Hospital.

Garr, 47, who is paying for her own trip, has already reached almost $1,000 of the requisite $5,000 minimum each team member has to raise.

But she’s confident that, with the help of the MacNeill student community, she’ll reach that target before too long.

“I’m fairly new here, so I thought I could get to know some of the students on the student council and see if they’d be interested in helping,” Garr told the Richmond News.

“They are a great group and they’re already considering a toonie drive, a donuts and bubble tea day and a dance to raise funds.

“We really come together as a school community here and it’s evident in the way the students have gotten into this.

Garr said she asked the students if they knew anyone that had been to BC Childrens Hospital and most of them put their hand up.

“Most people have a personal connection to the hospital. And at MacNeill, there’s a real sense of family; it’s a really caring group of kids, who all want to make an impact,” she added.

“This is the first time I’ve done something such as this and I’m still a bit nervous about asking people for money. But 100 per cent of what I raise goes to the hospital, that’s the really good thing.”

Garr, who is also raising money on her SOH climber’s profile page, said she was given the idea of the trek by a friend, who knew of her love of hiking and climbing and soft spot for charity.

“It was the perfect combination,” said Garr.

“Endurance is the biggest thing, but it’s difficult to find the time for that kind of training. It’s really the number of days I’ll be doing this for that’s hard to replicate.

“I’ll be doing lots of cardio and work on the bike and will have to take altitude medication beforehand.”

Garr is also hosting a fundraising pub night at The Landing, near her home in Ladner.

More information on Garr’s fundraising mission can be found online at SummitsOfHope.com/ClimberProfile/Sarah_Garr.