An 11-year-old student at Ă©cole Marie Poburan wants to tell her Crohn’s disease to take a slide.
Erica Beattie is preparing for her second annual fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada this Saturday. The event, cheekily entitled Ride the Colon for Crohn’s, will have people pledge the girl to ride down the waterslide as many times as possible in a two-hour period.
Certainly she’ll be having a good time while she and her friends occupy the attraction at Fountain Park Recreation Centre. She, on the other hand, is all business.
When asked about her overwhelming success of raising more than $6,000 at last year’s inaugural event, she didn’t hesitate to say what her goal is this time around.
“More money,” the Grade 6 student stated.
She’s not alone. One of her friends and schoolmates suffers from celiac disease, having previously had irritable bowel syndrome. She helped Beattie bring in $300 last year just on her own.
Beattie is also hoping that Ride the Colon will grow so much that they can take it to West Edmonton Mall next year. For now, the event stays in St. Albert.
Whatever the venue, she said it all goes to a good cause.
“It’s important because it would help a lot of people. Hopefully it would make them feel better,” she said.
Beattie has been managing her disease very well, said stepmom Tamie Froment.
“She’s been going for some injections. Her blood levels have been fantastic since she started those. Less stomach aches. We’re optimistic.”
The two expect to have a crowd of people showing their support on Saturday. Last year, Beattie’s teacher even collected donations at the school. On the day of the event, she showed up and offered Slurpees for the riders.
Anyone who wants to help out the cause is asked to e-mail Froment at [email protected] or Cory Beattie at [email protected]. The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. They also intend to keep collecting donations for a few weeks after the event.
