Polar bear run raises funds for local church

ELORA – Grace Christian Fellowship hopes to send 16  people – 10 youth and six adults – to Panama in March and held a polar bear run/walk on Jan. 27 as a fundraiser.

This is the first year Grace is sending youth on an international trip, part of its Mission Immersion Program (MIP).

“We hope this will become annual,” said youth pastor Jason Durst, who organized the event.

MIP is a youth development program that provides youth with an increased sense of purpose as they support communities in other parts of the world.

The six-month program teaches teens to become global thinkers and to take action when they see injustice.

“Our mission is to stir a greater sense of purpose  and  hope not only in the hearts of youth here in Centre Wellington but also in hearts of the youth they will be supporting, globally,” reads a statement on the church’s website.

Durst said students will travel to Boquete, Panama for 11 days, from March 7 to 18, and assist with a food distribution program.

They will work with the Ngäbe people, an Indigenous tribe in the western part of the country, who have built their communities in the mountains.

They are poverty stricken, with many people suffering from malnutrition, and the trip is an opportunity for students to see how international aid can help a community.

A few dozen people came out for the event on the damp, foggy day.

Durst said the goal is to raise $15,000; already $7,500 has been donated.

Anyone interested in learning more about the program or making a donation can visit igrace.ca/mip.