Kendal-Leah Skelton loves to swing. In fact, she loves it so much she’s going to swing on the swings at Moody middle school for eight hours, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday.
And she’s not even going to get dizzy, says the 10-year-old.
But she will raise money for breast cancer research.
This is Kendal-Leah’s second “Push For a Cure.” That’s what she calls her marathon swing session. She said the idea for the fundraiser popped into her head one day when she was talking to her grandfather, but she decided to swing it into action after her aunt, Arielle Patterson, was diagnosed with the disease last year.
She recovered, and Kendal-Leah raised $2,100.
This year, she’s launched a fundraising website, www.pushforacure.ca, and she’s handed pledge sheets to all her friends. A nearby liquor store, Port Moody Liquor, will even donate four per cent of a sale if the customer mentions Push For a Cure.
That’s got Kendal-Leah aiming high for this year’s swingathon. Literally.
She said she likes to vary her swinging routine to keep it interesting; sometimes she sings sideways, sometimes on her belly, sometimes upside-down, sometimes she straddles two swings. Always she swings as high as she can.
“I like closing my eyes and pretending I’m flying,” said Kendal-Leah, who plans to fuel her swingfest with Subway sandwiches, donuts from Tim Horton’s and snacks from Dairy Queen.
And when the eight hours are over, Kendal-Leah really will fly, leaping off her swing to fall back to earth again.
