On April 18, 2021, George Brown College (GBC) students are hosting a Virtual 5-kilometre walk to support donations for the SickKids hospital and the George Brown College Foundation. 

Last year, the walk raised over $4,500. So far, 26 participants have signed up to walk or run in this year’s event. Half of the money donated will be funded for student scholarships in the Office Administration – Health Sciences program, and the other half will be funded for the Neonatal Division at SickKids hospital to support medical research and technology. 

The money donated to SickKids is also a result of a partnership between GBC students and one of the founders of the Elite Culture gym, Victor R. Miranda, who happens to be a fitness influencer as well. 

“We already worked with Victor, as he was a guest speaker for one of our classes,” said Alyssa Fedele, one of the students on the planning team. “They were engaged with our event on social media.” 

According to Fedele, planning the event was over a month-long process, and involved looking over social media, logistics, and mobile applications.  

“Every Friday after our class, we would have meetings and speak about ideas even if the pandemic was happening,” said Fedele. “Our teacher would send out instructions every week, and we would make weekly postings to contribute to the social media feed. It was quite a bit of work.” 

Other than social media, Fedele and her team were trying to find different methods to conduct the event. They researched different apps, and finally came across the Strava app. 

“This app [Strava] was one of the best that we found,” said Fedele. “People with fitbits can track their steps, as long as you have the Strava app connection.” 

Although this is the first time that GBC is hosting the event virtually, Fedele says that she has learned a lot throughout the process. 

“The event taught me a lot about making schedules, keeping on top of things, and the importance of social media,” said Fedele. “So it really taught me to step up my game and take initiative because there are always times for me to interact with other pages, make a weekly schedule, and make changes to the event along with my teammates.” 

Even though engaging the student community has proven to be a hassle, Fedele is confident about the turnout of the event. 

“People are still registering now since it’s never too late,” said Fedele. “Overall, planning, communication, and teamwork were very good skills which I have learned, and I am happy to see the results of my group’s work.” 

The virtual walk will take place at noon on Sunday, April 18. Instructions on how to register for the walk can be found at footstepsinthecity.ca.