Ontario Schools

Find 52: Pass the Baton

STUDENTS RUNNING FOR THE RIGHT TO READ

Find 52: Pass the Baton connects Ontario schools to our annual National Relay for students in St. Lucia. Schools in Ontario run a relay between March Break and the last day of the school year. You’ll see the details below. Thanks to the students and staff of Centennial CVI for organizing not one but two runs. (The baked goods were awesome.) Thanks also to CSC MonAvenir schools in Guelph, Cambridge and Waterloo for sponsoring us at ​“La Grand Course” et grand merci to the entire school community of EEC Saint-René-Goupil.

I do a lot of running but the world runs on reading. And I encourage all schools to get involved with Find 52: Pass the Baton…and support global literacy.
ERIC GILLIS
Canadian Olympic Marathoner

Students at EEC St. Rene-Goupil, in Guelph pledged their support. image
Batons from schools in Ontario were carried by students in St. Lucia. image
Micoud Secondary school student gave a shout out to Haliburton Highlands SS. image
Awefully big shoes for Micoud Primary students to fill–but happy to try! image
Canadian Olympian Eric Gillis chats with Amber, an Olympic hopeful, at CCVI in Guelph. image
CCVI students on track to make a difference. image
image
image

In Words & Pictures

How to run a Find 52: Pass the Baton event at your school
Your school can download pledge sheets, announcements, and posters. We’ll send you a baton and a Really Big Shoe into which runners and fans can ​“toss a toonie.” After recording supporter names on your pledge sheets, we’ll curl them into your baton and take them to St. Lucia! Throughout their three-day relay, St. Lucia students carry Ontario school batons. Each day, we’ll post pictures of the 125 km relay so students in both countries can see just how far their support for literacy has gone!

Pick a day before the end of the school year that suits you. Go indoors or out: it’s your choice.
Elementary schools can hold their event during a scheduled Track & Field Day. High schools might, like Centennial CVI (Guelph) have grade competitions during a ​“buy-in” period. No track? No problem. We want schools to get creative so they can fill their Really Big Shoes with toonies. Ultimately, it’s about showing support for literacy and having some fun! Schools that participated in 2017 are listed below.

Here’s what Find 52: Pass the Baton schools receive
Schools should confirm participation by e-mail. We’ll ship you a Really Big Shoe and a baton. Posters, pledge sheets and morning announcements– they’re all downloadable on this page.

Contact us soon to sign up!

<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
In 2017, Teacher Michele Shapira (pink jacket) and staff and students at Haliburton Highlands raised a record $5,200.
<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
Eric Gillis racing CCVI students at Pass the Baton, Guelph 2017. (Rio Summer Olympics 2016, Marathon)
<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
Principal Scot Bishop dreams of running one day.
<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
Letting the Guelph community know Spartans will go the distance for literacy.
<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
CCVI students on track to make a difference.
<?php e(!$image->file_title()->isEmpty(), $image->file_title()) ?> image
Teacher Julie Hubbard with Grade 10 captain, Amber at CCVI's 'Pass the Baton.'
In 2017, Teacher Michele Shapira (pink jacket) and staff and students at Haliburton Highlands raised a record $5,200. image
Eric Gillis racing CCVI students at Pass the Baton, Guelph 2017. (Rio Summer Olympics 2016, Marathon) image
Principal Scot Bishop dreams of running one day. image
Letting the Guelph community know Spartans will go the distance for literacy. image
CCVI students on track to make a difference. image
Teacher Julie Hubbard with Grade 10 captain, Amber at CCVI's 'Pass the Baton.' image
Schools signed up for 2018
2018 SCHOOLS CITY, TOWN or SCHOOL BOARD AMOUNT
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute May 30, Guelph $1500.00
École élémentaire catholique St-René Goupil May 14, Guelph $537.00
ES Père-René-de-Galinée June 13, Cambridge $700.00
Anonymous donation $500.00
Thanks to our 2017 schools
2017 SCHOOLS CITY, TOWN or SCHOOL BOARD AMOUNT
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute Guelph $1766.00
École élémentaire catholique St-René Goupil Guelph $582.00
Haliburton Highlands Secondary School Haliburton $5200.00
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic HS Guelph $400.00
St. Leo Catholic School Brooklin $355.00
John Galt Public School Guelph $297.00
École secondaire catholique Père-René-de-Galinée Cambridge $568.00
Downloads
Download pass-the-baton-announcements
Download pass_the_baton_poster_colour
Download school-info2
Download sign-up-sheet_2018
2018

Find 52: Pass the Baton

$1,500

raised of $10,000 goal

Campaign concluded on Tue, July 31 2018

15

% raised
More Campaigns
Previous:
Find 52: Robin's Runners
Next:
Find 52: Luc Renaud
International Literacy Day 2016
Soufrière Primary ran a relay on September 8, 2016 to celebrate reading. The event was filmed as part of the "run-up" to our first Find 52 Thousand campaign in 2017. Over 1,000 students from grade 3-12 ran 1 mile segments right around St. Lucia.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)
Fundraising is an Uphill Battle
In January 2015, I ran 52 miles in Grenada. Let me dismiss athletic motives; it so happens 52 miles gets you all the way around the island. I did it for money – $40,000 – all of which went to OneWorld Schoolhouse. CTV National news ran the story on May 25, 2015 and so began Find 52.

All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.

James Thurber
Find 52 started in Grenada
52 miles gets you right around this small, beautiful island. Companions on the second day included: Philip Clift from Petite Anse Hotel, an enthusiastic young boy and one very fit dog named "Dodgy".

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.

ST. AUGUSTINE
Finding the way for Fundraising
Olympian Jake Holden and Richard Clewes survey the route for Find 52 in January 2016. The duo were joined by St. Lucian Olympic athletes and members of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force.

A road is a song, a poem, a movie, an adventure. It's hope and optimism, and inquisitiveness.

A. A. GILL
The Angry Isle