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A little school club with a big goal of better mobility for students

Coquihalla Elementary’s PeaceJam group asks businesses to fund adaptive tricycles
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Two young peace jammers drop off a hand-written letter to Buy Low Foods May 15. The group has big goals of buying adaptive tricycles for Coquihalla Elementary School students with mobility issues. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard

It’s not enough to learn about peace from the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Hope’s own peace jammers are hitting the streets to build their own peaceful society.

A group of 15 Coquihalla Elementary School students canvassed businesses along Wallace Street last Tuesday, with personal donation letters in hand. The group’s goal is to buy adaptive tricycles for their fellow students who face mobility challenges.

Grade 4 students Matthew Lasser and Quinlan Shields said they were expecting businesses to be generous once they hear about the student-led initiative.

“We’re thinking that people will say hey they’re trying to do something like that. And then they’ll just donate, like, ‘how much?’” Lasser said.

“This is like a test to see if people are going to be nice or not nice and at the same time we’re trying to get an adaptive tricycle for people who need it,” Shields added.

The $3,000 price tag for one adaptive tricycle may sound prohibitive, but the students were not deterred. They said they’re determined to raise enough to buy at least one for a student at the school and up to three of these mobility aids.

“There’s a little boy named Carter in our school and there’s another boy just like him who needs an adaptive trike like that,” Lasser said. “It helps with their muscles, it could be better than a wheelchair, you can exercise better, there’s different gears, big wheels on the back, little wheel on the front. It’s like a lawn chair, sort of how you lay back.”

The letter the PeaceJam group handed out to businesses lists a range of benefits these tricycles have for children who face mobility challenges. These benefits including adaptations which meet the mobility challenges they face, help in building muscle control, strength and fitness, increased independence and fun.

Teacher Linda Bailey said the group is open to any business who wants to donate, whether they have received a letter or not.

PeaceJam is a non-profit organization present in over 39 countries, whose goal is to inspire youth to become peacemakers and change their communities and the world through mentorship with Nobel laureates.

“First thought you might say ‘hey, they make jam with peace!’. No,” Lasser said. “We’re a little club slash big club, who learns about the people like the Dalai Lama, people who basically helped out the world and are a big part of peace in the world.”


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The entire PeaceJam group from Coquihalla Elementary School took to the streets of Hope last Monday, May 15, to canvas local businesses for donations. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard