Nearly 140 people got on board a unique fundraiser Wednesday put on by the United Way.
17 teams of eight people took part in the “Pulling for my Community Bus Pull” fundraiser at the Queensway Bus Loop in downtown Kelowna.
The teams, who fundraised prior to the event, had to pull a transit bus 60 feet to the finish line.
“Holy what a rush for a great cause. It is so great United Way is doing this,” says participant Claudel Lajeunesse.
In previous years, participants pulled airplanes at the Kelowna Airport.
This year organizers wanted to mix things up.
“We wanted to change it up to re-energize it but the idea from the teams, they wanted a team event but something closer to town,” says the United Way’s Shelley Gilmore.
While a bus is easier to pull than an airplane, it is still a heavy weight.
“The buses themselves are pretty heavy. They are 27,000 pounds,” says Jerry Dombowsky from the City of Kelowna.
One of the participants, Noah Normandale, decided to pull the massive vehicle by himself.
He managed to pull it 60 feet in 41 seconds.
“It was bloody hard but good. I want to take a crack at that double decker next year,” says Normandale.
A group of City of Kelowna workers was the winning team.
The eight city workers managed to pull the bus to the finish line in under 17 seconds.
Today’s event raised almost $15,000.
The United Way for the Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen hopes to raise $1,500.000 by the time the 2014 campaign ends at the end of January.
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