50p
Beat Cancer Cause You Can’t Beat Hope
On Monday, April 5th, Assistant Houseparent Mr DeSandoli stood before the assembly of Hopelings at our weekly house meeting to gauge interest in and encourage the fundraising and participation in Brentwood’s annual Relay For Life for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Three thousand dollars?” I chuckled, casting a knowing glance to my little sister “Do you really think we could raise that much in only five days?” “If we make it to three thousand dollars,” Mr DeSandoli exclaimed “fundraised through the combined effort of all you girls reaching out to friends and family members under the Hope House banner, I will dye my hair and eyebrows pink!”
Now this raised quite the commotion within our teal-themed common room, but I was still left skeptical, not at Mr DeSandoli’s willingness to go full pink to represent his Hope House pride - an opportunity I suspect he had been waiting for, for some time - but at the ability of myself and the 50-odd girls surrounding me of raising upwards of three thousand dollars in such short amount of time.
Little did I know Hope House would propel this initiative forward with such spirit and determination that we would raise over $18,000 for cancer research and treatment within a few short days.
In retrospect, Mr DeSandoli remarks “I think the girls were all blown away by how much they could accomplish by all pulling together to support a cause. They were also amazed by how much their friends and family wanted to support them in their fundraising efforts and ended up raising six times the initial goal that they set for themselves.”
Not only had cancer scarred the lives of everyone in that room when this project was first pitched, but the Hope girls’ devotion to Mr Desandoli, whom many of us call ‘Dad’, and his family, which recently survived cancer, propelled us in our motivation to truly impact this cause.
From Grade 9 to 12, all the girls of Hope House wanted to contribute their time, effort and donations from friends and family. “It was really heartwarming to see everyone raising money in any way they could” says Gillian D, Hope ‘21. “I saw people posting on social media and raising awareness constantly. It truly showed how much we can accomplish as a house.”
Sarah G, Allard ‘21 undertook the responsibility of organizing all fundraising for this cause and she shares her thanks and congratulations to Hope House for “an incredible fundraising effort.”
It is times like these that all the Hope students and staff, like Ally D, Hope ‘21, are “proud to be a part of this extraordinary house”. This event “really showed how unique and loving Hope House is” and how grateful we are to be under the care of “Mr DeSandoli and his huge heart never fail to exceed all expectations of giving.”
Following a day-long celebration and cheerfest for the runners participating in Brentwood’s Relay For Life out on the field on April 10th, and Thursday’s big reveal of Mr DeSandoli’s hot pink head of hair at Assembly (we neglected the eyebrows for fear of blinding him) along with our three other in-residence faculty, Houseparent Ms Hedquist and RFAs Ms Legassicke and Ms Woito sporting fashionable hot pink streaks or undercuts, Hope House is still buzzing with excitement and pride.
Moving forward, I hope this great highlight - in a year that has been challenging for all - will inspire future Hope girls and the rest of the Brentwood community to rally together for a common cause and demonstrate the full potential of what we as a community are capable of.
“This is a great example for what young people can achieve when they unite in support of a cause and then follow through on their plans with passion” summarizes Mr DeSandoli. “In the future, hopefully there will be an opportunity to do something similar that involves all eight Brentwood houses.”
One gigantic thank you is owed to the DeSandoli family for putting their trust and faith in Hope House, Sarah G and B-Well for organizing, and everyone who donated or contributed to this cause in any way. Thank you!
Maddy W, Hope ‘21
“Three thousand dollars?” I chuckled, casting a knowing glance to my little sister “Do you really think we could raise that much in only five days?” “If we make it to three thousand dollars,” Mr DeSandoli exclaimed “fundraised through the combined effort of all you girls reaching out to friends and family members under the Hope House banner, I will dye my hair and eyebrows pink!”
Now this raised quite the commotion within our teal-themed common room, but I was still left skeptical, not at Mr DeSandoli’s willingness to go full pink to represent his Hope House pride - an opportunity I suspect he had been waiting for, for some time - but at the ability of myself and the 50-odd girls surrounding me of raising upwards of three thousand dollars in such short amount of time.
Little did I know Hope House would propel this initiative forward with such spirit and determination that we would raise over $18,000 for cancer research and treatment within a few short days.
In retrospect, Mr DeSandoli remarks “I think the girls were all blown away by how much they could accomplish by all pulling together to support a cause. They were also amazed by how much their friends and family wanted to support them in their fundraising efforts and ended up raising six times the initial goal that they set for themselves.”
Not only had cancer scarred the lives of everyone in that room when this project was first pitched, but the Hope girls’ devotion to Mr Desandoli, whom many of us call ‘Dad’, and his family, which recently survived cancer, propelled us in our motivation to truly impact this cause.
From Grade 9 to 12, all the girls of Hope House wanted to contribute their time, effort and donations from friends and family. “It was really heartwarming to see everyone raising money in any way they could” says Gillian D, Hope ‘21. “I saw people posting on social media and raising awareness constantly. It truly showed how much we can accomplish as a house.”
Sarah G, Allard ‘21 undertook the responsibility of organizing all fundraising for this cause and she shares her thanks and congratulations to Hope House for “an incredible fundraising effort.”
It is times like these that all the Hope students and staff, like Ally D, Hope ‘21, are “proud to be a part of this extraordinary house”. This event “really showed how unique and loving Hope House is” and how grateful we are to be under the care of “Mr DeSandoli and his huge heart never fail to exceed all expectations of giving.”
Following a day-long celebration and cheerfest for the runners participating in Brentwood’s Relay For Life out on the field on April 10th, and Thursday’s big reveal of Mr DeSandoli’s hot pink head of hair at Assembly (we neglected the eyebrows for fear of blinding him) along with our three other in-residence faculty, Houseparent Ms Hedquist and RFAs Ms Legassicke and Ms Woito sporting fashionable hot pink streaks or undercuts, Hope House is still buzzing with excitement and pride.
Moving forward, I hope this great highlight - in a year that has been challenging for all - will inspire future Hope girls and the rest of the Brentwood community to rally together for a common cause and demonstrate the full potential of what we as a community are capable of.
“This is a great example for what young people can achieve when they unite in support of a cause and then follow through on their plans with passion” summarizes Mr DeSandoli. “In the future, hopefully there will be an opportunity to do something similar that involves all eight Brentwood houses.”
One gigantic thank you is owed to the DeSandoli family for putting their trust and faith in Hope House, Sarah G and B-Well for organizing, and everyone who donated or contributed to this cause in any way. Thank you!
Maddy W, Hope ‘21