March 13, 2010 probably saw the hottest Bus Push event of all times. On a rather very pleasant morning for March, 46 enthusiastic UW engineers students gathered in the CPH foyer ready to pull a bus from UW campus down to Kitchener market square for the 33rd time.
For those of you who have (surprisingly) never heard of Bus Push, it is an annual charity event organized by EngSoc to raise donations for organizations such as Sleeping Children Around the World, MS Society, and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the KW Area. This year the proceedings were donated to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
Sometime in remote history, students used to push the bus, but due to safety concerns a rope is now attached to the front of the bus and it is pulled by the students. More students can help move the bus by just holding on to the rope and take breaks if wanted.
So in our brightly coloured yellow T-shirts, after having coffee and doughnuts (hmm sugar) as our breakfast provided by the awesome Bus Push directors, we waited for the bus to arrive. Unfortunately, GRT sent one of the new busses without anything on the front to attach a rope to. The right bus finally came, with a GRT van and a police car as our escorts, and the fun began. While students held on to the rope using all their might (and sometimes with a bit of slack in the rope), spirits were kept high by cheering for Water-loo, singing the Engineering hymn and the magic bus song. We were well received by the pedestrians and the traffic who smiled and waved and donated graciously to the volunteers collecting donations. As the physical activity warmed the body, students threw their jackets and coats in the bus and volunteered to distribute water bottles every now and then.
To make the event even more epic The Tool made an appearance in Kitchener as we passed Victoria Street and we faithfully followed the Tool Bearers till our destination. After successfully pulling the bus over a stretch of 7 km in an hour and a half, we were given a ride back by the same bus to the University plaza. Having satisfied our hunger at The Grill we headed back to POETS where prizes provided by the Heart & Stroke foundation were distributed.
Although my muscles refused to move for the rest of the day, knowing that I contributed to the $5062.58 raised through this event for a good cause makes every effort worthwhile.
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