ort High students Brandon Morrison and Branda Avis will be joining two others in a cross-Canada walk to raise organ donor awareness.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity because you get to meet so many people,” said Avis.
“It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime,” added Morrison.
Morrison and Avis will be part of the road crew travelling with Toronto resident George Marcello, who is doing the walk.
“I found very, very suitable candidates on my hands,” said Marcello, who left town for Dryden on Tuesday morning after arriving in Fort Frances last Wednesday afternoon.
“I think they were at a point in their lives where they were ready to do something like this.”
The 18-year-olds have to finish their final exams of the semester, then will join Marcello in Dryden and Kenora to continue his year-long trek.
“We have their parents’ full support and blessing for this,” noted Marcello.
Marcello has been walking for more than 200 days from town to town to encourage citizens to sign their donor cards and politicians to push for the implementation of a national organ donor registry.
He also has former Fort Frances resident Travis Martin as his driver for the trek.
“We got Brandon through Martin, who is also a native of Fort Frances,” said Marcello. “His job will be the second driver. He’ll actually be under Travis Martin’s wing.”
The two students were officially “drafted” by Marcello during a presentation in the high school cafeteria Monday, which was attended by students, vice-principal Gord McCabe, Brandon’s father, Kim Morrison, and Mayor Glenn Witherspoon.