Local celebrity athlete Elli Terwiel has begun the battle in her bid for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team with a bang. She’s raised over $13,000 to date and counting.
Having trained all summer in Switzerland and New Zealand with the Canadian National Alpine team, Terwiel has her sights set on securing a spot on the Winter Olympic Games team. Getting there not only has physical and mental barriers to be conquered, but monetary requirements as well.
Terwiel’s on the right track to secure a spot on the Olympic team with two FIS finishes in the top 20 last season, and her sights are set on two finishes in the top 12 this year. The only thing that may be holding her back is the monetary demand not only to secure a spot on the Canadian National Alpine Team, but for other travel expenses required to get herself to Sochi.
“Every year it’s a bit of a battle for my family to come up with 15 or 20 (thousand dollars), whatever team fees are that year,” says Terwiel. “This year I decided to try taking it online and it was extremely successful.”
Terwiel has created a support campaign through www.makeachamp.com in order to reach out to potential donors. Even though she’s reached her initial goal of $10,000, there’s a new push to continue fundraising to help Terwiel in every way possible.
“I was only aiming for $10,000 because I didn’t believe that I could actually get to $10,000. Yet now it’s up to about 13 grand, so my 15 grand for my team fees are almost paid off and that is absolutely amazing,” says Terwiel.
To thank her sponsors personally, Terwiel is making hats and earrings to send out to those who donated.
“I totally believe in this, it’s not what your contributors can do for you, it’s what you can do for them,” says Terwiel, “and that’s the way I’ve always approached my fundraising.”
New momentum in the push for donations has been created by support from Sun Peaks Resort Corporation and Tourism Sun Peaks. Recently announced, for every $25 donated to Elli Terwiel through her Make A Champ website page, donors get their names put into a draw for a chance to win one of five spots available to ski or ride Sun Peaks first, before the chair starts turning for the public this winter season.
Although Terwiel’s taking a year off from her engineering degree at the University of Vermont, she’s sticking with the studies, taking a geology class for the fall semester.
“I love learning too much to stop,” says Terwiel “I’m taking this year off and really focusing on the Olympics and give that my 100 per cent and then after that I plan on going back to school.”
As Terwiel continues her battle for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team she has a message to those who’ve made generous contributions to her fundraiser.
“There’s something to be said about the Kamloops community, about the fact that I’ve been able to raise the team fees this year . . . and I’ve been able to make it this far on the support of the community and it’s really heartfelt. I really appreciate it.”
Click here to make a donation and support Elli.
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