EDMONTON — From dancing and washing cars to making balloon animals and shining people’s shoes, dozens of University of Alberta students took to the streets of Edmonton this weekend for a good cause.
Shinerama, an annual fundraiser in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, was held on Saturday. About 80 students exchanged their talents and acts of kindness for donations to Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
“We shine shoes, that’s sort of why it’s called Shinerama, but now it’s evolved into so many different things,” said Lucy Chen, co-director of the event, “anything creative, anything to get attention.”
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Cystic fibrosis is a fatal genetic disease that mainly affects the digestive system and lungs. One in 3,600 Canadian children have the disease for which there is no cure.
“Just something as simple as going to school is so hard for us to do because there’s so many germs and when we’re put in with a lot of people we’re going to get sick. There’s not really a way around it,” said Nicole Stringer, a speaker at this year’s event in Edmonton.
Stringer, 23, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was two years old. Her best friend died of the disease last year following a double lung transplant. She said events like Shinerama are incredibly important for raising awareness about cystic fibrosis.
“It’s really great coming out and seeing everyone that wants to support cystic fibrosis because I still don’t feel like it’s in the community enough. I don’t feel like a lot of people still know about it.”
Thousands of student volunteers from more than 60 universities participated in Shinerama events across Canada this weekend.
Last year, the event in Edmonton raised about $2,000. Organizers hope to raise about $3,000 this year.
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