Former Thom student returns home to honour friend and contribute to fundraiser

Former student returns home to honour friend WATCH: An alumni of Thom Collegiate returned home to honour a friend and contributes to a longstanding student fundraiser.

An alumnus of Thom Collegiate returned home on Friday to honour a friend, and contribute to a longstanding student fundraiser.

Daniel Gardiner graduated from Thom in 1998. At the time, he was close friends with a fellow student, Christian Alphonso. Alphonso was diagnosed with cancer, and the student body of Thom set out to raise money for his family to travel to Vancouver for cancer treatments.

Sadly, Alphonso died, but the student fundraiser lived on. Over the past 26 years, the school has raised more than $240,000 for the Saskatchewan Cancer Foundation.

Gardiner spoke to the students on Friday to give them the history of their fundraising event.

“As time passes… memories tend to get a little foggy. So this was a great week as I knew I was coming here to be able to just ponder on some of those just really special experiences we had as teenagers. And the impact that he made on me and my family, but also just ... really to see that it’s continued all these years, even to the students that are here now,” he said.

Gardiner has matched student fundraising efforts for the past two years, doubling the money they raised. He plans to continue doing so in the future.

This year, the school raised $17,424.90, which Gardiner matched, bringing the total donation to $34,849.80.