May 2011: Almira Tanner

For Almira, making a difference doesn’t necessarily equate to accomplishing great feats or getting well-recognized for what she does. All she needs are Saturday mornings with a gym full of enthusiastic kids.

Almira is a recently graduated Kinesiology Major at SFU. Labelled by one of her friends as “one of the hardest-working people [he] knows,” she volunteers her Saturday mornings to runFUNdamentals, a Special Olympics training program for kids ages 2 to 6.

Although the program primarily focuses on helping handicapped kids with their motor skills through cooperative games and sports, there is no shortage of fun and laughter. In fact, it may well be the cornerstone of the program. In the half hour I spent in the gym of Clinton Elementary School, I saw one FUNdamentals showing his potential to be the next Michael Jordan, scoring five hoops in a row; another put Justin Bieber to shame, as he flawlessly belted out the hit song “Baby”; and a handful of others pleaded zealously for one more cupcake.

Indeed, Almira credits her love for her work to the atmosphere. “The kids are hilarious,” she gushes. In fact, having gotten familiar with these children over a span of several months, Almira is proud to have seen each of them become more active and grow out of their shells. “It’s about becoming more comfortable in their environment as well as with other kids.”

Surprisingly though, Almira denies that she is athletic. She simply wants to help people, while trying out new things for herself along the way. She revealed that two summers ago, she had even coached rhythmic gymnastics, of which had been foreign to her previously.

Almira’s drive to help other people is selfless, sincere, and perhaps even subtle; however, the positive impact she has made in her community is incontestable.

About the Author: Richelle Zheng

Richelle is a grade twelve student at Prince of Wales Secondary. She loves writing, photography and travel. To her, hockey + K-pop + Twitter is the best combination on any given night. Richelle dreams unrealistically of living in Manhattan someday.

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