Luxton kids want socks for Siloam

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This article was published 29/02/2016 (3647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Luxton School students are socking it to winter.

The school’s Kuamini leadership group is in the midst of a sock drive for cold feet. The students are collecting donations of new and gently used/clean socks which they will deliver to Siloam Mission.  

“How it happened was me, my little sister and my dad, we go on this route to Luxton and usually there’s this guy there begging for food or money,” said Robert Schulz, a Grade 5 student at Luxton.

“One day as we were driving, we stopped at the red light I saw that he was shivering like crazy. I looked down at his feet and you could tell he had no sock. This idea popped into my head that we should have a sock drive, so I talked to everyone at Kuamini and we told the teachers about it. We got permission and we put it on the announcements.”

The group’s goal was to collect 247 pairs of socks from their peers by Feb. 29. When The Times visited the school on Feb. 23, the group had already exceeded that goal, with 265 pairs of socks in their possession.

Consequently, Luxton teacher Robert Schulz (Robert’s dad) said the school is opening the sock drive up to the greater community, with a new goal of 2,470 pairs of socks by the end of March.  

In addition to collecting socks, the Kuamini group takes part in a number of local and global initiatives, including charitable, environmental and anti-bullying causes, which earn the students invitations to the annual We Day event at MTS Centre.

The group’s name, Kuamini, means “believe” in Swahili.

“We chose it because we believe we can all make a difference somehow,” said Bentley Ali, a member of Kuamini.

Ali, a Grade 6 student, will soon be graduating from Luxton, moving on to middle school at Edmund Partridge Community School, but plans to take the Kuamini mindset with her.

“I’m hoping there will be a program like this at my next school. If there is, I’m definitely going to join,” Ali said.

“Also, I know this group will continue next year, so if they do a mitt drive or something I will encourage my school to help out too.”

Mr. Schulz said Luxton students have a unique perspective toward giving because of the school’s location, smack dab between Main Street and Scotia Street.

“We have some very affluent families and some very needy families here and that leads to empathy. People can really feel the problems that are going on in our community,” Mr. Schulz said.

As for the man who inspired Luxton’s sock drive, Mr. Schulz said he hopes to thank him personally.

“I’m hoping we can give that gentleman a couple pairs of socks and a gift card, to let him know he affected change,” Mr. Schulz said.

Donations of new or gently used socks can be dropped off at the Luxton School office (111 Polson Ave.). On evenings and Saturdays, socks can be dropped off at Luxton Community Centre (210 St. Cross St.).