Burnaby schools rally to help those in need of holiday cheer

Burnaby students are rolling up their collective sleeves to help their flood-ravaged neighbours to the east.

Grade 4 and 5 students at Gilmore Community School sprang into action after a class discussion about the recent Fraser Valley floods. Demonstrating their own lesson in kindness and helping others, they rallied to collect items to bring to the Archway Food Bank in Abbotsford to support families in need.

Students and staff at University Highlands Elementary are collecting food, toiletries and toys to donate to flood-relief efforts. They are joining their partners on Burnaby Mountain as part of broader efforts by the Simon Fraser University community.

Leadership students at École Alpha Secondary are collecting blankets, coats and clothes for people impacted by the floods. Burnaby Mountain Secondary raised financial contributions by supporting donations via their School Cash Online site and directly to the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Red Cross.

Parkcrest Elementary School students, meanwhile, are raising money for the Abbotsford SPCA Branch to help them support animals that were displaced or are in need of veterinary care.

The holiday season has both students and staff thinking closer to home as well.

Leadership students at École Inman Elementary partnered with a local business, putting together nearly 300 dental kits for the Burnaby Homeless Task Force. They will be included, along with handmade cards, in comfort kits that will be distributed to Burnaby’s most vulnerable citizens.

Kindness and creativity are also on offer from students, such as those at Burnaby North Secondary who are creating 2,400 holiday cards in one week for seniors in Burnaby. What they’re calling “Operation Elf” is being put on in partnership with Intentional Acts of Kindness and Citizen Support Services.

Many schools, such as Lyndhurst Elementary, are also holding holiday drives for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. And last month, students at Second Street Community School collected hundreds of non-perishable goods for a food drive held in honour of one of the biggest festivals recognized by Sikhs around the world: Gurpurab, also known as Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti, which celebrates the birth of the first Sikh guru.

Staff are also contributing to the Burnaby School District’s annual United Way Campaign with financial contributions or by volunteering to help pack food and holiday hampers.