Iver Eyjolfson was looking forward to watching his father rappel down the side of the Lethbridge Centre building for charity, but now it’s the 13-year-old who will be braving the heights on Aug. 28 for the Rope For Hope event.
The fundraising event takes place in an array of cities across the country annually, raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“My son and I had committed to raising as much money as possible — hoping to raise $1,500 — so that I could rappel off the side of the building,” said Aaron Eyjolfson, a Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Alberta committee member, and Iver’s father.
“Unfortunately, I was in an ATV accident a few weeks ago,” said the elder Eyjolfson.
“I fractured a bunch of ribs and now I can’t go. So he’s (Iver) going to go off the side of the building in my place.”
Iver said that taking his father’s place was a no-brainer, because it’s for a good cause.
“I just feel like it’s for a really good cause, and if I didn’t do this opportunity, then I would probably not be very happy with myself,” said the younger Eyjolfson.
“It’s not really hard for us to raise that much money, and it’s going to really help them. [If] it doesn’t take that much difficulty to do it, then I don’t see why you shouldn’t try.”
Iver is currently the youngest person registered to take part on Aug. 28. He could also become the youngest person to take part in Lethbridge.
The proceeds go towards granting the wishes of sick kids.
“We’ll have a wish kid and a wish family that is attached to the fundraiser,” Aaron said. “What we do is we raise as much money as possible to grant that wish for that child.
“Each rappeller raises $1,500 towards the cause, and if they raise $1,500, then they too can rappel off the building.”
With just a couple of weeks before the big day, Make-A-Wish Southern Alberta is still looking for more participants.
This is the second annual Rope For Hope in Lethbridge. Last year’s event saw around 30 people take on the challenge.
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