Students from Girls Preparatory School and McCallie School will unite for the third annual Mission: Remission on Wednesday, March 25, to raise money for organizations engaged in the fight to find cures for cancer.
At 1 p.m. students, faculty, and staff from both schools will gather on GPS's lower fields to circle the track and begin their 2.5-mile walk through downtown Chattanooga, making use of the pedestrian friendly Walnut Street Bridge along with the Riverwalk adjacent to the Aquarium.
Over 1,500 representatives from both schools – an army of volunteers – are set to participate, wearing distinctive blue Mission: Remission T-shirts. Mackenzie Hobbs, president of GPS’s Partnership in Community, and James Westbrooks, president of the McCallie Student Council, will lead the seniors at the front of the walk, followed by grade level classes. The walk will culminate with a festival of music, food, games, and competitions on the GPS lower field.
Prior to the event, students have been raising funds through the sale of T-shirts. In addition, GPS freshman Pierson Brown secured sponsorships from local businesses, including Mike and Debbie Brown, in memory of Julie Feagans; Chattanooga Children’s Clinic, Clyde’s on Main, Engineered Floors LLC, McKee, Platinum Financial Funding, Sawrie Orthodontics, Sophie’s, State Farm - David Sharpe, Taco Mamacita and Urban Stack.
Organizations that Mission Remission has given to in the past include the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation, Emily’s Power for a Cure, the Christian Bryant Foundation and the JoeDance Foundation. A student leadership committee from both schools helps to determine where the funds are allocated.
Both GPS and McCallie students have lost classmates to cancer in the past few years, and students and family members affected by cancer are invited to carry the banner at the front of the walk.