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Tyler Robinson Foundation gets help from local teens, Imagine Dragons

'The kids don’t really know why they’re giving and how money helps, so we have them dress up in a costume for the theme of the day and it really helps the little ones get excited about the event'

A Utah teen’s struggle and unfortunate death has raised millions of dollars for pediatric cancer and Friday was the fifth annual fundraiser for the Tyler Robinson Foundation in Barrie.

Robinson was 17 when he passed away in 2013 from rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of soft tissue (such as muscle), connective tissue (such as tendon or cartilage), or bone.

In 2013, the Social Justice teams at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School and St. John Paul II Catholic School attended WE Day, which helps to teach young people how to be community leaders, and the two local schools decided to direct their attention to the foundation and help raise money for pediatric cancer.

Rachel Wulterkens, 16, and Ava Whitehead, 17, are grade 11 students from St. Peter’s who were on hand Friday at St. John Paul II to help with the fundraiser and present a cheque to the Tyler Robinson Foundation.

Whitehead told BarrieToday that she keeps helping and trying to reach the monetary goal every year.

“We go to St. Pete's, but come back and help organize the event here and to date we’ve raised about $30,000 for the foundation,” said Whitehead. “It takes approximately $15,000 to support a family going through a pediatric care diagnosis and helping with any costs they may have. Our goal each year is to get as much money as we possibly can to help out”

On Friday, the schools raised $8,300 for the organization that went along with other monies raised to donate $12,000 to the first Canadian recipient of the Tyler Robinson Foundation.

It wasn’t always easy to get young kids excited about raising money and the teens had to find creative ways to get the elementary students involved. The first year the teens helped raise money they realized it had to be fun for the elementary school children, so they came up with themes, and this year was your favourite movie character.

“The kids don’t really know why they’re giving and how money helps, so we have them dress up in a costume for the theme of the day and it really helps the little ones get excited about the event,” said Whitehead. “This year it was their favourite movie characters, but we’ve even done favourite superheroes and that was well-liked.”

The foundation doesn’t only have a local connection, but also an international one as the popular band Imagine Dragons have also been donating money to the cause.

Robinson was a huge fan of the band and found strength in some of their songs. A gala hosted by the Dragons last year raised $2.1 million for the foundation.

Whitehead said Robinson’s love for the band created a bond between them all right up until his death.

“Tyler had a big love for the Imagine Dragons and his brother, Jesse, had contacted the band to see if Tyler could sing at one of their concerts that the family was going to and they were totally up for it,” said Whitehead. “It created a really special moment and apparently they continued to message each other until Tyler’s passing.”