On the night of 29 November, students from Marc Garneau gathered for a night full of sleeplessness, entertainment, and fun. Eliminate Night which brought together students to spend a night at school together, and ran from 5 in the afternoon to 7 in the morning.
All proceeds towards Eliminate Night went towards the Eliminate Project. The Eliminate Project’s goal is to provide mothers in need with a vaccine that can prevent maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) from harming their newborn children. MNT is a deadly and painful disease that kills nearly 60 000 newborn babies every year. The Eliminate Project wishes to raise the required $110 million to immunize 129 million mothers and their babies.
Students occupied the night with activities such as playing basketball. Photo: Abigail Chau
The night raised $5000, surpassing the goal of $4000. The largest amount was raised by Grade 12 student Sabrina Bertsch at $1120. She commented that “I went all out for this and really hoped to make a difference.” Over the course of a single evening, Marc Garneau students have raised enough money to immunize 2600 mothers and their future children.
The school principal, Mrs. Goldenberg, was present for the entire event, and said that she was highly supportive of the cause because she always does “her best to support kids of Garneau,” and that Key Club is “always working for a worthy cause.”
To fill the long hours of the night, a variety of activities were made available to students. For students who wished to play volleyball and basketball at 3 in the morning, the gym was open the entire night. For those who liked to dance, there was one in the in the cafeteria. For those who wanted to watch movies, part of “The Avengers”, and all of “The Conjuring” and “The Grudge” were played.
Thoughts on Eliminate Night were generally positive for a number of reasons. Deven Rasie, a grade 12 student who attended Eliminate Night, said that of all the events available, his personal favourite was the dodge ball game that happened in the gym. He also mentioned that “The night was good because everybody had their friends to hang out with.” However, it wasn’t just the attendees who enjoyed the event. Key Club co-president Mona Adib remarks, “Most importantly, it’s all about giving an exciting event for the students of our school, while supporting an excellent cause!”
All in all, Eliminate Night was a chance to enjoy a sleepless night with friends, and at the same time, support a worthy cause.
