Thursday, March 28, 2024

We climbed down a downtown Victoria building and here’s how you can do it too

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Don’t look down!

When you’re standing on top of one of the city’s tallest buildings knowing full well that in five minutes, you’re about to voluntarily jump off the side, this bit of instruction is crucial for maintaining your nerve.

(Kelly Wallace Photography)

On Thursday, May 24th, I joined about 40 fundraisers for the Make-A-Wish BC & Yukon on top of the 160ft CIBC building in downtown Victoria, ready to rappel down the structure as a part of the organizations ‘Rope for Hope‘ event.

While Victoria’s tallest buildings are tiny compared to the 400ft+ structures that Vancouverites and Montrealers have to scale, when you’re standing on the ledge about to jump off – the one thing that your body is telling you not to do, with every fibre of its being – it all feels just the same.

But I knew I couldn’t back out – not when my coworkers were down at the bottom cheering me on and, more importantly, filming the whole thing live for our 90,000+ Facebook audience.

So, with one hand clutching the lever and the other holding on to the rope for dear life, I slowly made my way down the side of the building, until my feet finally found the blessed, merciful ground…

…and I can’t wait to do it all over again!

(Jennica Jones – right/Kate Weston Photography)

What Rope for Hope is all about

For the first time this year, Make-A-Wish brought its national ‘Rope for Hope’ campaign to Victoria, allowing individuals and groups to experience rappelling down a tall building once they raised $1,500 each for the foundation.

Their goal for Victoria was to raise $50,000 and the event was so popular that they’ve been able to reach 139% of their goal, at a whopping $69,000! All funds raised at the Victoria event will be used to grant wishes on Vancouver Island.

In partnership with Over the Edge – a rappelling company that has thus far raised over $75 million for charity – the Rope for Hope 2018 in Victoria was clearly a tremendous success.

For those who don’t know, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes for thousands of children with life-threatening conditions every year.

How you can get involved next year

Although no more people will be walking down buildings this year, you can still donate to Rope for Hope Victoria 2018 until October 1st by clicking here.

Now that you’ve read a little bit about what it’s like and what the event day entails, you may be jonesing to unleash your inner daredevil!

Get yourself on the VIP list to be notified when registrations for the 2019 Rope for Hope event open up by expressing your interest to Simone Conner – Director of Make-A-Wish, Vancouver Island and local superhero – at simone.conner@makeawish.ca.

Once registered, each participant must raise $1,500 for Make-A-Wish in order to rappel on the day of the event – but don’t let this deter you!

With an incredible network of fundraisers and experienced volunteers (and crazy prizes as incentives) to help you out, you’ll make the target in no time.

Good luck going over the edge!

Victoria Buzz's very own Brishti Basu is going to rappel down the iconic CIBC building right here in downtown Victoria to help fundraise for Make-A-Wish BC & Yukon

Posted by Victoria Buzz on Thursday, May 24, 2018

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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