Mr. Speaker, for many, changing the way we treat our climate and animals are tasks so daunting that they do not know where to start. This was not so for 10-year-old Cody Kelso who, inspired by Terry Fox before him, walked 115 kilometres from Gibsons to Powell River with his mother, Megan, to raise money to make change.
After four days of walking in the rain and through blisters, ups and downs, Cody and Megan reached the finish line an entire day early. Cody succeeded in raising a total of $33,500 for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to enable it to install the solar panels needed for the local branch to reach net-zero emissions, and to bring the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association's Cool It climate leadership training program to the Sunshine Coast.
Cody's journey not only made a meaningful difference in his community. It also inspires others that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. While the walk was certainly challenging, Cody and his mom have a motto that kept them going on their journey and that we can all use to keep ourselves motivated to make a difference in our communities: Believe. Do. Achieve.