Young activists spent a day and night outdoors braving the cold in the name of charity.
Eleven secondary students at École Beausoleil, Okotoks' Francophone school, along with two supervisors spent 24 hours outside on Feb. 8 and 9.
"We're raising money, as well as donations, for charity," said 13-year-old Logan Gould. "We're giving it all to the Okotoks Food Bank to help the less fortunate who do what we've done all day, every day."
The Grade 7 student was joined by fellow students in grades 7 to 11.
"We all started out strong, having fun, building our forts," said Gould, who slept in a cardboard box alongside fellow students.
"By the eighth hour was when everyone started to feel how cold it really was."
Temperatures reached a low of -6 C during their outdoor campaign, alongside snowfall and max wind speeds of 20 km/h.
"As long as we kept moving, it wasn't too bad," said Gould. "We found fun little activities to pass the time.
"I don't think anyone regretted it, we had a lot of fun. This last hour has just been the hardest because we're all just standing still, waiting."
Gould said the campaign was a success as it received over $600 in cash donations and nearly 1,000 non-perishable food items from community members.
"We're hoping to make this an annual event," he said. "Even if you don't wanna do something as extreme as sleep outside, every little bit of help is really worth a lot.
"Even if you just drop a few cans of soup off at the food bank, it can really make a difference."
