Sudbury school honours late student, launches fundraising campaign

École Secondaire Catholique L’Horizon will host series of fundraisers for NOFCC in memory of late student Zoé Trépanier. Madison Marier has more.

Students from École Secondaire Catholique L’Horizon and members of Greater Sudbury’s Valley East community gathered for a special assembly today to honour the memory of Zoé Trépanier, a Grade 10 student who passed away last June following a battle with cancer. The assembly served to launch a series of forthcoming fundraisers in her name, with all proceeds directed to Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC).

Principal cites family’s wish to give back

Anik Ledo, the school’s principal, explained to CTV News that the decision to support NOFCC was a result of the organization’s profound impact on Zoé’s family.

“We saw what her struggles were, what the family struggles were, and knowing that they wanted to give back to NOFCC,” Ledo said.

“It was just natural for us to say, yes, we want to give back since they helped you so much and, you know, was able to accompany them through this battle.”

Fundraisers to include merchandise, ice cream and community partnerships

The campaign will begin with students having the opportunity to purchase commemorative merchandise in March. Subsequent events will include an ice cream sale, inspired by Zoé’s fondness for the treat during her illness. Her sister, Stephanie, shared during the assembly that near the end, the only thing Zoé could eat was an Oreo Blizzard with extra Oreo.

“We wanted to honor her by selling ice cream,” Ledo said, adding that the school connected with local vendor Bitter Bills for the initiative.

Local organizations rally in support

The school’s mission has drawn support from several local organizations.

The Valley East Lions Club has pledged the proceeds from its next porchetta bingo event to the cause.

“All year long, we’ve been planning to donate to NOFCC and when we heard about what was happening here at Horizon with Zoé Trépanier, we wanted to commit our next porchetta bingo,” said Daniel St-Pierre, one of the club’s representatives.

“We wanted to commit all the funds we raised from that to donate to this Zoé’s campaign.”

This follows a previous tribute from Dance Evolution, where Zoé was an active dancer. The studio held a ‘Glow with Zoé’ dance night in July, raising just over $2,100 for NOFCC.

One of Zoé’s relatives, Aiden Nicholas Fillator, reflected on her character and the community response.

“She loved to help people and if she were here, seeing all this, she would just be like, ‘This is what I want,’” he said.

“She would have wanted people and her family and the school and community and the students of the school to help the other communities that were in need, just like her and her family, in the hard times.”

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