It’s easy to be a superhero. After all, Delta resident Archie Campbell has been one for half a decade.
The 50-year-old has participated in the same Easter Seals fundraiser for the last five years, dressing up as a superhero and rappelling down the side of a building.
But that’s not what makes him a hero; it’s the more than $100,000 he’s raised to help the charity provide programs and services for people with disabilities.
“It’s great to do the event, and it’s fun to go down the building,” he said. “But at the heart of this is the money that you raise for these kids so they can go to camp just like any other kid.”
Campbell first heard about Easter Seals back in 2005, when a friend enticed him to try the charity’s new “drop zone” fundraiser. The event sees people rappel down the side of the Guinness Tower in Vancouver, allowing them to play superhero while raising money for the organization.
“Most people don’t often get the chance to go down a building on the outside, rather than going down on the inside,” he said. “It’s just a really exhilarating experience if you have any kind of adrenaline junkie-ness to you and you don’t have a fear of heights.”
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Campbell’s job made it difficult to participate in other Easter Seals drop zone events until 2014, but when he started up again he wasn’t shy about using his connections as a chief financial officer for Arrow Group of Companies in Vancouver to garner donations for the charity.
“I just kind of shamelessly work my Rolodex and ask them for money,” he said. “Fundraising is just finding people who have money in their pockets and persuading them to give it to you.”
“Over the years too, they’ve gotten to know this is kind of my fundraising thing and people have been really supportive,” he continued. “I don’t take it for granted, I’m very thankful that they’ve helped me do it.
“Perhaps it’s as simple as they just really want me to jump off a building,” he added.
Although the adrenaline rush is a thrill, Campbell said the real joy is from helping kids and parents who struggle on a daily basis.
“If you have an opportunity to give back, [you should] do that,” he said. “This is my opportunity to give back. I’ve had a very fortunate and lucky life, so if I can do something to help others less fortunate than me, I was brought up to try and do that.”
The donations Campbell collects goes to support Easter Seals House, a place where families can stay while their kids are at BC Children’s Hospital, as well as summer camps for children with disabilities.
“It’s a wonderful cause, I’m passionate about it,” Campbell said. “I’m fortunate to be able to get people to open their pockets, and that’s what’s really important.”
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.com
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