David Thompson High School’s Students in Action (SIA) raised $2,200 over the last year for local, national and international non-profit organizations.
Of that money, the students donated $600 to the Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association, $650 to Free The Children, $600 to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in Edmonton and $350 to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
They also held a food and clothing drive for the Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association, said teacher Pam Dedora.
“The students like to do sustainable donations,” Dedora said. “(They chose) the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada because it was close to their hearts, and the Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association because we wanted to pick something local to help.”
Dedora said the students fundraised by hosting and organizing a variety of different activities such as a meet-and-greet barbecue for parents and teachers, two school dances, hot lunches and a Christmas market.
Dedora said the Christmas market was the biggest fundraiser, as it involved the entire school.
By taking part in fundraisers, students learned that organizing an event is hard work and a lot of responsibility, according to Dedora.
“I try to make sure I give them as much autonomy as possible,” she said. “It’s their responsibility to organize things and they have to ask me to go pick it up. I am not just going to go do it for them.”
Dedora said the students involved in SIA set an example and helped build the school’s culture.
“There’s a lot of really great students out there who are trying to make our communities and our world a better place,” Dedora said. “A lot of people will say that this generation is really self-involved, but that’s not what we’re seeing here. We’re seeing children work together and reach others.”