Big Brothers & Sisters raises 100k with daring fundraiser

There have been a lot of people going “over the edge” in downtown Hamilton today. They’re rappelling down the tallest commercial building in the city to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington.

Unless you’re Spider Woman, dangling outside a 26-storey building is an uncanny place to find yourself.

Seventy six people raised $1,000 each for the organization so they could take the daring leap.

“I raised money because I wanted to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. So thank you to all my sponsors,” said Morning Live anchor Annette Hamm.

Over the Edge is an adrenaline rush. At first it can be hard to let go no matter how many times the instructor asks.

But once participants trust their training, they scale 300 feet down Hamilton’s tallest commercial building.

Most organizations fundraise with bake sales, raffle tickets, but not Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlingto. They decided to do something adventurous and exciting.

“We’re Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We knew we needed to do something to draw attention to ourselves and we’re quite sure we have,” said the organization’s Marianne Noakes.

“It was so awesome. The only part was the wind throwing us around…I would so do this again,” said Hamm.

“I love doing crazy things that challenge you get you out of your comfort zone and just tackle fear,” said Gina Faubert, another climber.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters has raised $110,000 and counting. For anyone who wants to take part, they have already confirmed the event for next year.