Adopt-A-School: Join the Sedins to grind it out to help schoolchildren

Daniel (light grey shirt) and Henrik Sedin running the Grouse Grind recently. The twins will go head-to-head to see which former Canuck star gets to the top of the mountain first on Sept. 27. Photo by MARK YUEN

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There are still a few days left for you to sign up for Henrik and Daniel Sedin’s Grouse Grind challenge that aims to raise money for this fall’s Vancouver Sun Adopt-A-School campaign.

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The challenge has so far attracted more than 350 entries from groups and individuals and will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27. If you can’t do the Grind, you can still participate in a family event on Grouse.

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The Sedin twins with go head-to-head to see which former Canuck star gets to the top of the mountain first.

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Following them will be participants split into Team Daniel and Team Henrik who will then race up the mountain to see which team wins.

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Registration for the challenge closes on Monday. Jaimie Rogers, Grouse Mountain’s senior director of business development, said they are still hoping to get 500 or more entrants for the race.

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“The feedback from the community has been amazing. The cause is fantastic. (AAS) is an easy thing for us to get behind,” said Rogers.

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Earlier this year AAS sent $2.3 million to schools across the province to help them feed and clothe impoverished children.

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Henrik and Daniel are the co-presidents of Vancouver Canucks hockey operations. They spent their entire careers playing for the Canucks and have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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The twins have also received many awards for their community work and philanthropy.

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The Sedin Family Foundation has supported AAS for a number of years. In the last campaign, it donated $126,000 which was sent to schools in the North, an area where food is more expensive than in the Lower Mainland.

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The Sedin-verses-Sedin race will be followed by a family fun day that involves a series of children’s events, a live DJ and a barbecue. Details can be found on the Grouse Mountain website grousemountain.com.

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Rogers said 100 per cent of the ticket sales raised from the family fun day will be donated to AAS.

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A friend and former Vancouver Canuck colleague of the twins, Trevor Linden, will be part of the Club 16 Trevor Linden Fitness team taking part in the race.

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Linden laughed when asked if he thought he could beat them.

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“No chance of that. These guys are legends on the Grouse Grind. They’re great friends of mine but I won’t even come close,” he said.

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Daniel Sedin once did the grind 11 consecutive times in one day.)

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AAS became The Vancouver Sun’s main charity in 2011. None of the donations are used to pay administration costs; every penny is sent to schools.

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Since 2011 almost $17 million has been distributed to hundreds of schools where teachers have struggled to feed and clothe students arriving in a distressed state.

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It has provided breakfast and lunch programs, built kitchens and given teachers funds to provide children with clothes or other necessities to protect their welfare.