This journey of the past five weeks has been one of the most fueling and inspiring adventures of my life- it is truly still all sinking in. Knowing that this is just the beginning brings me so much joy. In 35 days we were able to reach 29 schools across Alberta and letting the message of finding your spark, igniting your passion, chasing your dream, and making a difference in the world reach over 10,000 students.

It has been an honor sharing this passion with such incredible
people. Each and every single day, we were able to hear amazing stories of leaders who make a difference, playing it forward in their environments. This has brought so much hope and light to me knowing that the future lies in the great hands of our youth. There is so much to be grateful for….

Thank you to the schools who embraced this concept, to the students who listened and are out in the world playing it forward, to the sponsors whose belief and support sent us out on the road, to all the families who let us use running water and fed us, to the house- concert hosts, to the Ronald McDonald Houses, to Marcie, Kathryn, and the website team, to all of the initial contacts who gave feedback on growing the concept, to all the volunteers, to my parents for letting me learn to fly, and to the team for being my first ever amazing room-mates with so much passion and spark for playing it forward everyday. It was a blast filled with so many memories to treasure.

To my musical sisters, thank you Amber Bauer and Bethanie Earle for all of your love, and love for sharing your sparks musically with me, and with the students. This all girl band really was a vision brought to reality thanks to you and I appreciate all of the hours you performed throughout the 5 weeks.

To Suzanne Sagmeister, thank you for meeting at Esquires to kick this whole thing off. Thank you for believing and bringing so much love and passion to making this a reality the way we envisioned it would be. It meant so much to have you on the road seeing it through, stepping away from your crazy schedule and your family. It is an honor to have your “Changemaker” creative geniousness behind this- thanks for sharing your spark. Your words below are truly incredible and it is an absolute privilege to share the magical moments in these photographs with everyone, bringing the experience so much closer.

Thanks to all who were a part of bringing this passion to life. I can’t wait to continue this across Canada soon…. Reflecting on this Play It Forward tour brings me goosebumps and tears- so proud of all who participated. Thanks for making this REAL.