WMEMS students spread cheer

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This article was published 07/01/2020 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The spirit of giving is alive and well with school children making a difference through their charitable projects.

Approximately 160 students at Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary and Middle School’s Katherine Friesen Campus (26 Agassiz Dr.)embarked on several selfless projects in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
“Every year during the advent season, which is a time for preparing for Christmas, we have a giving project. This year for that giving project we decided that we were going to raise money for MCC (Mennonite Central Committee),” explained principal Marilyn Kroeker.

“We’ve been collecting money for MCC relief kits that gets sent to 10 different countries around the world. We raised over $1,200 for the kits, which is great. It’s been really exciting.”

These kits are packed with bath soap, laundry soap, shampoo, bath towels, combs, toothbrushes, nail clippers, bandages and sanitary pads to provide relief to families whose lives have been disrupted by war or disaster.

“Some kids asked ‘Why are we doing this? Who wants soap?’ It’s interesting to hear their expressions since they don’t even recognize that they need these things to live. In Grade 2, we talk about wants and needs in the social studies curriculum. We discuss how many children in the world don’t get their wants fulfilled and they only get their needs fulfilled. We explain that the bucket helps them to get water and we try to bring it into a world view,” Kroeker said.

“Our theme for the year is water, so we’ve been talking about it a lot. We did another project that focused on frozen water for clean water. We sold Freezies and then we sent the money to where people don’t have clean water. We’ve also been talking about Manitoba because there’s lots of places here that don’t have clean water.”

On Dec. 19, the Grade 6 students walked from their school on Agassiz Drive to deliver the relief buckets as well as a cheque to Mennonite Central Committee for the initiative.

The same day, the Grade 7 students loaded up a mini bus with fresh vegetables that were donated through the school’s recent Peak of the Market fundraiser. Then they dropped off the nutritious contribution for Winnipeg Harvest.

The Grade 5 students also dedicated their time and talent through the digital arts program to create cards, which younger students then coloured. The students headed out to deliver them to their neighbours at the homes surrounding the school’s property.

“It’s a gesture of thanks because we create a little bit of busyness in the mornings and at the end of the day,” Kroeker said.

“So it’s just a way of saying thank you and we’re happy that we’re a part of this neighbourhood.”