“I never looked down.”
That's what Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said after rappelling down 21 stories of the First Federal Plaza Building to support and raise money for the Boy Scouts of America on Friday.
"It wasn't hard going over it was the middle that was the hardest. When you get a little scared because you are too far in the middle to go back up and it's a long ways down. So, you know, I just said ‘you got to keep going.’"
Warren's chief of staff and the mascot's for the Rochester Americans and Red Wings also rappelled down the side of the building.
The fundraising event supports Scouting programs for more than 12,000 youth across five counties. That includes 40 afterschool programs run in Rochester city schools.
"Our city boy scout troops don't get a chance to raise a lot of money because a lot of the suburban boy scouts raise money through popcorn sales and other things,” says Warren “Our city troops are not able to do that. So we did this as an example to show support and raise awareness to start supporting the city's troops."
The executive director of the Boys Scouts of America says they've raised approximately $60,000 dollars in the past two days. That's about a $20,000 less than previous years - in part due to the weather.
Warren donated a thousand dollars to the 21 Stories for Scouts fundraiser. She says it's important to give city youth an opportunity to participate in Scouting programs.