L A N G L E Y A D V A N C E | Tu esday, December 27, 2011 |
A5
The spirit of giving
Small items show students have big hearts
An elementary school rounds up basic care items that will be given to local homeless teens.
Gordon Greenwood students David Mighey and Matthew Lachay (left), both in Grade 3, worked together to lug a filled backpack to a school assembly where donations were given to Aldergrove Neighbourhood Services. Matthew Szeman and Thianna Rogers (upper right) also helped gather up the donations. Lauren Kimoti and Alesdair Coyle (below) were some of the older students who oversaw the project. (Below left) It took a large contingent of students to transport the filled backpacks and boxes of extra sundries to the assembly. Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance
by Heather Colpitts
hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com
They are things most people lying around the house and can take for granted – toques, mitts, tissues, socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, granola bars and fruit snacks. But for someone without a home, they are welcome comforts and in some cases, can help prevent serious illness. Kids who are on the streets and are homeless have higher rates of illness, explained Loren Roberts, the program supervisor for Aldergrove Neighbourhood Services’ youth homelessness initiative. That’s why the sundries gathered up by everyone at Gordon Greenwood Elementary will be important for helping the community’s homeless and at-risk teens. Roberts explained that a container of hand sanitizer can help, for example, reduce the spread of colds and flu, which can be much more serious for someone living on the streets. The project to help teens on the streets may have started with the social responsibility component of the Career and Personal Planning Course for the older studetns but it took on a life of its own with the whole school coming together. With the support of business donations, the school filled nine backpacks with basic care products as well as some warm gear such as waterproof hoodies. Once the packs were filled, the students and staff just kept right on contributing so there are several boxes as well. The packs and sundries will be given out by youth outreach workers with Aldergrove Neighbourhood Services, which provides coverage for all of the Langleys. Grade 6 student Alasdair Coyle said working on the project helped him understand the value of having a loving home where he can get the items he needs. “I just couldn’t imagine,” he commented when asked what he thought live would be like if he didn’t have a
family and home. Lauren Kimoti, in Grade 7, liked that this all came together during the Christmas season. “We have so much and they don’t,” she said about what motivated her to want to help. After the older students gave a presentation to the Fullerton Foundation, it donated $1,000 to the cause. Local authors donated books, and teacher Lydia
Gennai donated money she made performing music at an event. In addition to the goods, the school donated $500. “Sometimes that’s the beginning of a relationship,” explained youth outreach worker Susi Schecker. And that relationship is necessary for the street workers to help troubled youth find the services that can change their lives.
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