Sarah Kriekel and her soccer team wanted to raise money for breast cancer research and came up with the idea to play a 10-hour soccer game.
They raised nearly $5,000.
Sarah was one the volunteers who raised money for breast cancer research, who the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation honoured at a dinner and award on the weekend.
Every year, the foundation holds the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening to help award and promote the efforts of the people who give their time to help others.
Kriekel was awarded the Voice of the Future award, recognizing the volunteer efforts of an individual under the age of 25.
“There’s a bunch of us that got together and brainstormed and we came up with it together,” Kriekel, 23, said. “We had a few people who played for the whole 10 hours.”
Kriekel also organized a barbecue, silent auction and a head shave event in addition to the game itself, most of which relied heavily on her efforts.
“Sarah took a lot of initiative. Even though the idea came from the team she put things together,” said Michelle Fuko, manager of urban and rural partnership for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Prairies/ NWT region. “Someone going so above and beyond so young is something we really want to highlight.”
Fuko said that while a night like this was a great way to show off the hard work of its volunteers, the message of awareness of the disease is something that must always be prevalent.
“We make sure that people are aware of the issues surrounding breast cancer,” said Fuko. “Until we have a cure we have to do more.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer for Canadian women, and one that will see one in nine women develop it in their lifetime.
According to their information packet, an estimated 22,400 women will be diagnosed with the disease this year, while 5,300 would not survive.
