Students at Edmonton’s Avalon Junior High School raised $111,194.90 for the Terry Fox Foundation by 3 p.m. Friday, passing their $100,000 goal and last year’s total. The school’s annual Terry Fox run was held Friday, and donations will remain open until Monday. Principal Kirstin Johns-Bell said the amount was enough to put Avalon first in Canada among fundraising schools.

Avalon raised $41,000 last year, ranking first in Alberta and seventh in Canada among schools fundraising for the foundation. This year, students aimed to exceed that sum while reaching the higher target. Some teams raised more than $13,000, Johns-Bell said.

“It’s the best day of the year,” said Grade 8 student Colter Southworth. “It’s just such a beautiful thing. We’re all coming together, celebrating and making a difference.”

Johns-Bell described the result as “Pretty amazing stuff for a little junior high of 570-ish students.” She added: “So when you think about adolescents and what they can do, these are the future leaders of tomorrow, and it’s just super inspiring.”

To encourage students to fundraise, Johns-Bell agreed to get a tattoo if the school came close to its goal. With the target now surpassed, students can submit artwork to inspire the design. Johns-Bell said the plan is to have the tattoo done in the school gym so students can watch. Community sponsors donated prizes for the top three runners in each grade, including a frozen turkey, as well as awards for the top fundraisers.

Terry Fox began his cross-Canada run in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. After travelling 5,373 kilometres, cancer returned to his lungs and forced him to stop. He died in 1981. Since then, annual Terry Fox Runs held across Canada, usually in September, have raised more than $850 million. People have been taking part in runs over the past week, with some raising money for cancer research.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton.