Paying it forward
Cambridge girl donates books to elementary library as part of Make 150 Count
A Kings County teenager is celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday by paying forward her love of reading to a new generation.
Seventeen-year-old Rose Schoonhoven, a Grade 12 student at Horton, is one of more than 1,000 young people age 25 and younger from across Canada to receive $150 from RBC as part of the Make 150 Count initiative.
Recipients are given the money to spend in a meaningful way in their communities. Schoonhoven decided to purchase books to donate to the Cambridge Elementary School library. She worked with the school librarian to select the titles.
After the books arrived, Schoonhoven gave a reading to Primary students in the library.
“They had so much enthusiasm and curiosity, which made me feel really good about the impact my $150 could have,” Schoonhoven said.
Cambridge Elementary has “a special place” in her heart because she was once a student there and spent many hours in the library. She remembers escaping into the “magical worlds” found in the books. Schoonhoven wanted to pass on that magic so today’s students could discover and explore the world through new storybooks.
“It was truly amazing to see the excitement on their faces as they discovered new additions to their library,” she said.
The books celebrate Canada’s rich history and cultural diversity. Schoonhoven said Canada is very multicultural and she wanted everyone to be represented and included through the books she selected.
She was notified of the opportunity by the Coldbrook RBC branch and was taken through the application process. She is grateful for the opportunity to pay forward her love of reading.
After being selected, Schoonhoven produced a video about her project that can be viewed on her Youtube channel. She also wrote an essay about the experience that she sent along with the video to RBC.
Brian Findlay, who works on RBC’S Make 150 Count campaign, said he thought Schoonhoven’s submission was a great example of how thoughtful young people are being with the opportunity.
Year of accomplishments
Earlier this year, Schoonhoven was chosen from hundreds of young people across Canada as one of 16 winners of a pilgrimage to Vimy, France, for the centennial ceremonies of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Her great-grandfather fought in the First World War.
“I’m really, really passionate about history and it was a really big deal to get to go and see it all,” Schoonhoven said.
Schoonhoven was also a finalist in the 2016 Student Superpower Challenge, a competition encouraging high school students to devise technologybased solutions to real world problems.
In addition, Schoonhoven started an entrepreneurial club at her school to get students thinking about becoming innovators and starting their own businesses. Two of the club’s pitches were selected at a provincial competition and one went on to win.