Earning their way to WE Day
British Columbia students lead change with WE Schools
WE Schools is turning young people across British Columbia into leaders. Operating in more than 1,000 schools in cities and towns throughout the province, WE Schools reaches over 325,000 students in B.C. every year, helping many earn their way to WE Day.
Last year, students volunteered over 830,000 hours, fundraised in support of 857 local and global organizations, and collected nearly 2 million pounds of food for local food banks.
From holding read-a-thons to fundraising for books to tackling racism, bullying and mental health issues, students across British Columbia are taking action on the causes they care most about.
Here’s how a few students at WE Day Vancouver earned their way this year:
AMELIA BURILL – LAKE CITY SECONDARY
When students at the Columneetza Campus of Lake City Secondary came to school last October 10, they were greeted by a flurry of over 600 purple hand-cut snowflakes covering every single locker in the school. It was World Mental Health Day and the school’s WE club decided to do something in honour of Amanda Todd and to raise awareness about the impact of cyberbullying.
“It felt great to see every locker decorated and students talking about it,” explains Grade 9 student Amelia Burill, who spent her lunch hours helping cut snowflakes. It also served as a reminder for Amelia, and the other students in the group, that small gestures can spread kindness and empathy.
That’s the idea behind Amelia’s favourite project of the WE group: teacher survival kits. Lake City Secondary students hand out gift bags to each teacher at the beginning of the school year, to remind them their students appreciate their hard work.
Along with a handwritten notes, every bag had gifts with a deeper meaning.
A candle, for when teachers feel like they’re burning out.
A puzzle piece, to remind them they’re an important part of every student’s life.
And chocolate, because … “no explanation needed—it’s chocolate,” laughs Amelia.
Amelia helped hand out the gift bags herself—which was her favourite part, seeing the cheer it brought to teachers faces.
“When our teachers got them, they were full of smiles and looked so happy,” she recalls.
As for the impact on teachers and students, “it’s become a school wide movement,” says teacher Mike Wilson proudly. From food drives and bake sales to visits to seniors care centres over the holidays and campaigns to help the school go green, the WE club is gaining momentum.
“Our first meeting this year was crazy, there weren’t enough seats for everyone in the room,” says Amelia, excitedly. “Everyone was so enthusiastic. If you get involved and do good things, you can make a difference.”
ELLA DUNCAN – MOUNT SLESSE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Students at Mount Slesse Middle School have to apply to join the Grade 9 WE club and leadership class. When Ella Duncan moved from Abbotsford to Chilliwack at the beginning of the year, she immediately wrote to the school and asked to join, outlining what she’d done in her community.
Not only had she volunteered at the Fraser Valley Gleaners Society, cutting up locally grown produce that’s then dehydrated and sent to developing countries around the world, she’d also organized a battery recycling program at her school.
Her crowning achievement, though, was spearheading a schoolwide WE Are Silent campaign.
“What I think are natural human rights and privileges, other people don’t have,” the Grade 9 student explains, her cheery demeanor turning serious. When students and teachers arrived at school during the campaign, each
was given a sticker to write the cause they dedicated their silence to. “I’m particularly proud of that, seeing our idea spread to so many classmates.”
Accepted into the Mount Slesse group, she’s quickly become one of its loudest champions. She has big plans for the year, including raising awareness about mental health and cyberbullying.
As for what she’s gained from the group— beyond a sense of what’s possible—WE has helped her find her community. “It’s helped me make friends pretty well,” she says brightly. “Now I know other young people who want to make a difference.”
NICOLE HOLLANDER – MILE 108 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
For one week last year, the halls and gymnasium in Mile 108 Elementary School looked more like a bakery than a school. Tables were laden with cookies, brownies and cupcakes as students and teachers jostled for midday snacks.
“It was very busy,” recalls Grade 7 student Nicole Hollander with a laugh. She hustled up and down the tables each day in charge of the money. After weeks of preparation, putting up posters, soliciting help from parents and classmates for baked goods and getting the word out, it was reassuring seeing all their hard work pay off. “It was all for a good cause so it was very cool.”
Students in Mile 108’s WE club dedicated their weeklong WE Bake For Change campaign to “the most important cause there is—to open doors for women who need it, like doors are open for us,” explains Nicole. With homemade baked goods donated by students from every class in every grade, the small WE club got the entire school involved, raising hundreds of dollars to help build a school in Kenya.
The bake sale proved to be a winning formula. A few months later, when a local skate park in the community was vandalized, students in the school held another bake sale to fundraise to repair it.
“We just have our training wheels on [as a WE club],” explains Mile 108’s principal Kevin McLennan. He helped bring WE to his school last year—and he already has high hopes for what his students achieve. Beyond bake sales, they organized a multicultural week last year to combat prejudice in their school and community.
“Our kids know how much they can be doing.”