Grey High on hot trot to do good

TOUCHED by the needs of two Nelson Mandela Bay children's homes, Grey High School pupils went on a mission to raise funds to help those less fortunate.

Through an initiative of the school's Student Christian Association (SCA), pupils pulled an all-nighter, running a 800m relay marathon to raise funds for the Maranatha Children's Home and the Missionvale Care Centre.

The school is still tallying up the money raised, with one of the pupils, Dylan Burton, managing to raise R550 towards the fund through sponsorship from his parents and the Sunridge Spar.

"We just want to show other schools that with hard work you can achieve the impossible. We want to put the word of God out there and show that Christians are not afraid to do something different," Dylan said.

"We're basically reaching out to children because we're teenagers and we just want to add a little bit of joy to their lives."

The boys began their quest after seeing the desperate need for help at the two centres.

With sports being a major draw card at the school, the relay grabbed many pupils' attention.

The group of 85 runners split into 14 teams of seven boys each, with each team running for 30 minutes before handing over the baton to the next one.

The relay marathon ran from Friday afternoon through to Saturday morning and got the support of pupils, parents and teachers.

Teacher in charge of the event, Linda Carr, said she was overwhelmed by the pupils motivation and compassion to give up their time and energy in contribution to the charities.

"I'm just impressed by their enthusiasm and wanting to give so much of themselves," Carr said.

In coming up with the funds, each pupil had to raise a sum of money.

Teachers John Clarke and Linda Carr joined the group, running a few laps while encouraging the boys not to give up. - Chanice Koopman