GUELPH 鈥� A group of Grade 12 students is aiming to Redefine Gala at an upcoming youth-led fundraising event.
The Beyond Borders Redefine Gala is set for 6pm on Jan. 18 at the River Run Centre in Guelph, and will raise funds for the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington, the Make Your Mark Foundation and the Beyond Borders program.
Through ticket sales and a silent auction, students have set their sights on raising more than $132,000 鈥� the record amount raised at previous Beyond Borders galas. Students anticipate more than 700 people to attend the gala.
Entertainment will feature a performance from Alexa Goldie, a Canadian country singer-songwriter who is travelling all the way from Nashville for the gala.
Other performers include award-winning Guelph musician CJ Cooper, acoustic singer-songwriter Drew McIvor, songwriter and musician Shane Phillips from Fergus and Guelph’s Performance Dance Academy.
Beyond Borders is an experiential learning program for Grade 12 students that “integrates academics with real-world applications, focusing on business leadership and community engagement,” students state in a press release about the gala.
“Students gain unique opportunities to step outside traditional learning environments, tackle challenges with confidence, and develop a deep sense of responsibility through collaborative projects and meaningful community contributions,” the release continues.
Over its 12-year history, Beyond Borders students have raised more than $1 million for local causes.
The 56 students in the program this year have been organizing the Redefine Gala for the last six months, student and director of marketing and creative Jack McEachern told the Advertiser.听
The students named it Redefine Gala this year to encompass 鈥渨hat the Beyond Borders program is all about,鈥� McEachern said. 听
鈥淲e view the way we do things at Beyond Borders to be very against the norm and different from a traditional classroom and we view what we are doing to be a way of innovating education and changing this norm that we so commonly see within the education system.鈥� 听
The name Redefine is meant to express how 鈥淏eyond Borders is so much more than just a business leadership program and that we are truly changing the lives of students through the many different experiences available within Beyond Borders,鈥� said McEachern. 听
鈥淭he platform for teachers to be with students all day every day for the whole semester allows for them to really connect with students on a much deeper level, and all of these aspects that are so incredible about Beyond Borders are something you cannot get within a traditional classroom.听
鈥淪o that is why this name was chosen for this year. To make that statement and show to people that we are changing the tradition and making an impact while doing so.鈥�听
With just over a week left until the big day, McEachern said “the pieces are falling into place” and that the students had done “the best job we possibly can” to prepare.
He said the causes picked as recipients of the funds raised are “incredibly important to the students.”
The Children’s Foundation officials supports more than 20,000 children and youth annually by providing over two million healthy meals and snacks at schools, funding more than 1,350 recreational and life-skill activities, delivering holiday gift packages to more than 1,500 families and providing educational and mental health supports, according to officials.
The Make Your Mark Foundation formed after 10-year-old Kayla Chadwick died due to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in 2019 and raises money