⚠ Sappy Post Alert! ⚠

Our Canadian office in Saint John, NB recently participated in a nationwide fundraiser for a charitable organization called the ‘Children’s Wish Foundation.’

The Children’s Wish Foundation was founded in 1983 and holds branches in all ten provinces in Canada. Its mission is to fulfill ‘wishes’ to children (ages 3-17) who have been diagnosed with life-threating illnesses. The wishes are gifts to not only the child, but their family as well. 

Many children wish for a family vacation to places like Disney World, or to see their favorite sports team play in their hometown. Some wishes may even be a play set in their backyard. No matter the wish, the foundation is there to provide a renewal of hope and happiness into the child’s life. 

So, every year, on the last Friday of September, the Children’s Wish Foundation holds a nationwide ‘Hero Challenge.’ Timber Mart, a building supplies company, is the main sponsor for the event and the day is full of high energy team building and celebrations. 

Fun Fact:
Our Saint John office is in the same building as the Children’s Wish Foundation. They came to our office a few weeks ago and asked if we would be interested in entering a team.

The rules were simple: 

• Set a fundraising goal 
• Get donations
• Be a hero on September 27th 

It sounds like fun, right? We thought so! Although we were late to the game, we decided that in two short weeks we would raise $1,000. 

From personal donations, friends, and family, we were well on our way to reaching our goal. Our final attempt was the idea to hold a bake sale in the lobby of our building! We sent flyers around, and our employees broke out their family recipe books. Everything was sold for $2 each and thanks to our hungry office neighbors; we effortlessly raised $325!   

Thanks to the profits of our bake sale, team Bicom Systems not only reached its fundraising goal but surpassed it! In two short weeks, our gang raised $1,145! 

So on Friday, September 27th, our team members put on our capes and became heroes. 

The day consisted of mini-challenges, a scavenger hunt, and trivia. We visited several local businesses around Saint John, including the oldest art gallery in Canada. There, we were tasked to complete a Bob Ross painting tutorial. Each team member had one minute to paint before handing the brush to the next person. Did I mention we had to do this while wearing a full Bob Ross costume? 

Other challenges included: 

• Finding the oldest bakery in the market and buying a treat for a ‘random stranger’
• Movie Trivia
• Four of our brightest team members used their puzzle-solving skills to ‘break out’ of a themed escape room  
• Two of our spice-enthusiast members entered a hot wing challenge 
• And more! 

After all the fun, the teams were asked to meet back at the venue for lunch and speeches. There we heard stories from Wish Children, met families in the program and children who were waiting for their wishes. Awards were given out to teams who raised the most money, most spirited and who had the most points. 

Following awards, the organization announced how much money the eight teams raised collectively. Thanks to everyone’s contributions and dedication, Saint John raised over $60,000! 

The Canada wide goal was to raise $1,000,000. With the help of all 14 cities, the Timber Mart Heroes Challenge raised over $1.2M for the Children’s Wish Foundation. 

We were fortunate to be apart of the event and are looking forward to participating next year. If you want to learn more about the Children’s Wish Foundation, check out their website. To see more of Bicom Systems around the world, take a look at our events page here.