Sunday, September 7th, marked the 10th annual BC Children’s Hospital Paddle for Kids event, which Finavera took part in for our first time.
Four of us leant our muscles, competitive spirits, and fundraising abilities to the Canadian Wind Energy Association (Canwea) sponsored dragon boat. We paddled with fourteen other Canwea participants, all of whom are involved in the wind industry as either developers or consultants.
The morning started with a rousing session of calisthenics, which set a jovial tone for the day and got everyone to relax and mingle amongst their industry and fundraising colleagues. The Canwea boat hit the water twice, performing one obstacle race and one sprinting race each time. I’m proud to announce that, due to our experience with labyrinthine regulatory processes, we were able to put some serious sweat into the obstacle course and finished with the best times in that section. In the end all four of our times were tallied together, but we still managed to finish 3rd overall, even though only two of us had ever sat in a dragon boat before.
Along with the great finish in the boat Finavera was able to raise almost $2 000.00 for the Children’s Hospital. The total funds raised this year were more than $78 000.00, with the money going toward sending specialists to remote communities to treat sick children. All in all the day was everything we hoped it would be, full of sunny skies and good humour. We would like to thank all those who supported our efforts by donating to our team, and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.