It has been over a month since 11 year old Jordon Elder made a very well deserved name for herself with a $10,503 donation to Telemiracle, a donation of 12 inches of her hair to Pantene and recognition as the 2012 Junior Citizen of the Year for Wilkie. But to see her walk through the grocery store with her father, smiling and saying "hi" to the people around her, she is a down to earth Grade 5er who accomplished something truly amazing.
Earlier in the year she set a goal; raise $800, which with encouragement from her parents changed to $1,000, for Telemiracle and donate her hair to be made into a wig for cancer patients. With the astounding support of her family, friends and the community Jordon started her journey out with small steps that just happened to snowball into a wonderful and inspiring journey.
Shortly after she began fundraising, donations began trickling in, with money coming in from seven different provinces. From the mail, to the family school dance, to the help of a Wilkie Kinsmen vs. Team Cey hockey game in Wilkie, donations came from everywhere and added up quickly.
After rapidly hitting the $1,000 mark, Jordon set another one for herself; $3,000. Donations quickly exceeded this, causing her to aim for and beat $5,000, but not without the help of a friendly dare that led to three grown men proudly dying their hair funky colors.
"The best was, we arrived at Telemiracle the Saturday night," says Tonya Elder, Jordon's mom, "very happy to go on stage Sunday afternoon with a donation of $7,800. But little did we know that Wilkie was fired up! We were sitting in the stands and our cell phones kept ringing with donations."
With supporters digging deep in their pockets and a few more dares - a mullet and back waxing - Jordon presented an incredible total of $10,503 on stage at Telemiracle.
While all of this was going on around her, Jordon accomplished her other goal; donating her hair. On Feb. 27, Jordon cut off over 12 inches of her hair donating it to Pantene to help make a wig for the Canadian Cancer Society. While she was getting her hair done, Jordan Schechtel from the Wilkie Recrecation Board came in to the salon to let her know she had been selected for the Junior Citizen of the Year award. And although her parents knew she was receiving the award, Jordon thought that she was just nominated. On March 2, during Farmers' Days Jordon, to her surprise, received the award. She says that now "I [have] more confidence. I am stronger. I did things that I thought I could never do because I was scared. I still need a little push sometimes to see that I can do things. But what I did was big for me."
Jordon's parents, Tonya and Trent, are proud of their daughter saying "she never lost sight of what she wanted to do and for that [we] are grateful."
Even with all of the support from the community, it was the support of Jordon's family that made this journey complete. Along with her parents, her Aunt Mandy, grandma and little sister Tina all pitched in to help Jordon along the way. And for that she is more than grateful.
"A special thank you to all who supported Jordon, we can never thank you enough," say the Elders. "We have feelings that you cannot write on paper because we don't know how to even start to express them for this whole experience. But, we will remember them forever."
With life slowly getting back to normal, she plans to relax and enjoy the summer and a trip to Newfoundland. "But," says Jordon, "keep a watch out for me."
