On the evening of Wednesday, June 25th, film goers from Cochrane and the Calgary area came to the Cochrane Movie House. Had they come for the latest blockbuster, another Pixar or Marvel outing? Not this time. They came to see a documentary that was released in 2019 and shown around the world…….. The Secret Marathon. However, this film had never been shown in Cochrane and through serendipity, it happened.
The Cochrane Cares Walking and Running Club was founded by Kari Rose. This women-led running community was started in 2020 to provide a safe, supportive, and empowering space for women to come together through movement. One Saturday morning in early April, after talking to the group, Kari and another runner, Gayle, asked if I would like to hold a fundraiser using The Secret Marathon film and show it at the Cochrane Movie House.
This is what I had been waiting for all these years, and I knew the charity I wanted to support. Classrooms Without Walls (CWW) was established in 2022 by David Falconer. David lives in Cochrane, is a Rotarian and is committed to improving the lives of children in Myanmar, Ukraine and Afghanistan through online education. I’ve been working with this charity for 2 years as a Volunteer Teacher and Board member. One project they have been working on is providing support for Afghan women who want to get their General Education Diplomas (GEDs). The cost for each woman to take the 4 exams is $1,000.
In early May, Kari, Gayle and I had our first meeting. We agreed to try to raise $5,000 and help five Afghan women earn their GEDs and access higher education—an opportunity that is currently under severe threat. With this in place it was all systems go: booking the theatre, getting sponsors, putting up posters around town, sending out emails to family and friends, sharing on social media, selling tickets, and making up raffle baskets.
On June 19th, Fiona, Manager of the Movie House, told us that the first cinema was sold out, so we added another. The big day arrived, and the doors opened at 5.30 pm. People started to arrive and fill the theatres. The film started at 6.30 pm, and after that we had a Q&A session. Lina and Roma from CWW were collecting donations, and by the end of the night, we had raised $7,000.