Fundraising rappel from top of downtown tower with persuasive granddaughter leaves 72-year-old exhilarated

It’s safe to say that most people don’t spend Tuesday mornings rappelling 83 metres down the side of a downtown building.

With their 72-year-old grandmother.

But that’s exactly how 23-year-old Morgan Parker started her Tuesday.

Parker and her grandmother Christine Jameus were among 50 Manitobans who took part in Easter Seals’ Drop Zone, raising money for Manitoba Possible, a non-profit organization working to eliminate barriers to full and equal participation for people with disabilities.

It’s a fundraiser that comes with a little more adrenaline than most charity events. Instead of walking or running for donations, participants were secured by ropes and slowly lowered along one side of Manitoba Hydro Place.

The thrillseekers participated individually or in teams of two, four or more. Individuals were required to raise at least $1,500, twosomes raised a minimum of $2,500 and the number for teams of four was $5,000. Teams with more than four members had to raise an additional $1,250 per person.

Every dollar raised through Drop Zone goes to Manitoba Possible and remains in the province.

Parker, an early childhood educator, said she works with children who are involved with Manitoba Possible, which made the cause especially meaningful to her.

So when she heard about the opportunity to raise money and rappel down a building, she figured, “Why not?”

“Not every day that I get to do that,” Parker said from the top of the 21-storey Portage Avenue tower in the sunny and windy morning chill.

Parker said the experience was going to be worth it.

“It’s 10 minutes of our lives, but it’s a really big memory,” she said. “Especially doing it with my grandma, it’s something that I will remember forever.”

Jameus was a little less enthusiastic about the idea. Her granddaughter had to convince her.

“Morgan made me,” she said with a laugh, minutes before their descent.

“But I think for me, why wouldn’t you want to jump off a building with your granddaughter? We’re making a great memory doing it.”

Both dressed in bright pink, the pair leaned back into their harnesses and began the roughly 10-minute journey to the sidewalk. It was the first time either had rappelled.

This year’s event gets the organization close to $2 million raised through Drop Zone over its 21 years, said Manitoba Possible CEO Lindsey Cooke.

The money supports a range of programs and services, from assistive technology and inclusive recreation to sending children to camp and providing opportunities to play sledge hockey.

“Helping all Manitobans live their best life here in our province is just an important thing to do,” Cooke said. “There’s always more that we can do.”

The programs help ensure Manitobans with disabilities have the equipment, support and opportunities they need to participate at school, at work and in their communities, Cooke said.

Rob Eatough, CEO of Easter Seals Canada, said the descent is meant to symbolize some of the barriers people living with disabilities face every day, while giving communities across the country a chance to help break them down.

“One in four Canadians currently identify as having a disability of one form or another,” Eatough said.

“And in order to really build a true community across the country and have everybody realizing their full potential, it takes all of us to rally around.”

Parker said Manitoba Possible’s work is about making sure people have the opportunity to participate without feeling excluded.

“They give equality to everybody, and they make everybody feel welcome in every sort of thing,” she said.

Once the pair reached the ground, Jameus’ enthusiasm could have sent her right back up to the top of the building.

“Yeah! I could do it again,” she said, beaming. “That was fun!”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca