SCARING AWAY HUNGER
The STRIVE Leadership club at Edmonton’s S. Bruce Smith School has been raising money and food for the Edmonton Food Bank since the school first opened 26 years ago. But becoming part of the WE Schools WE Scare Hunger campaign in 2015 has helped the group’s student members clarify their goals and motivations, says Lynne Spencer, a teacher at the school and the club’s advisor.
“They’ve learned a little bit more about giving back globally—and how their actions affect people around the world, not just in their local community,” she says.
This focus has helped them triple their donations over the last three years, with last year netting them their biggest haul yet: 2,356 pounds of food and over $300.
To raise their donations, the group puts on a carnival-style Halloween event on the last Friday in October for two- to eight-year-olds in the community. There’s usually a haunted house and the kids play games like pop the pumpkin and scare the witch, winning prizes such as colouring books, candy and stickers. The children pay $3 to participate, and adults are asked to bring a donation to the food bank.
Last year’s campaign got an added boost through a partnership between the group and Ford of Canada. Company representatives sat in on the school’s televised announcements and helped promote the campaign by encouraging students to donate. When the campaign was over, the company provided a truck to help the group deliver the donated food to the food bank.
“This was a very nice gesture, as it meant that we didn’t have to make arrangements for the food bank to come to us to get the food,” says Lynne. “We appreciated their support in helping to make our campaign the best yet!”