Student met needs with cookie fundraiser
Mohammed Tolba was alarmed when he read the stats about homelessness, poverty, and job loss.
“It always saddens me there are people who don’t have enough for basic human needs,” he said.
Tolba’s latest discoveries started as research for a school project at Northumberland Regional High where Tolba is in Grade 9, but he soon found himself wanting to make a difference.
“I kind of wanted to do something along the lines of homelessness and poverty,” he explained. “We’ve lost around 50,000 jobs since the beginning of the pandemic.”
After thinking about the issues and ways to help, he formulated a plan. He would bake cookies and exchange them for donations to the food bank.
To kick it off, Tolba said he put a post on his mother’s Facebook page explaining what he was doing and asking for people who might be interested in exchanging a donation for the food bank for some homemade cookies. Soon friends of the family and connections of theirs started placing orders.
Tolba wasn’t content with just that. Wearing colourful sweaters his grandmother knitted for him, he went door-to-door canvassing his neighbourhood for donations. No one said no.
In total, Tolba was able to collect about $600 worth of cash and food items which were donated to the Pictou County Food Bank East.
The food bank was so touched it made a social media post thanking Tolba.
“The Pictou County Food Bank East is very taken by this young man’s act of kindness and the initiative, generosity, and sense of community this young man has bestowed upon ours,” the post, which was shared hundreds of times, read. “Thank you Mohammed Tolba!”
Tolba didn’t do it for praise and said he’s just glad he was able to make a difference.
“It makes me really, really happy that I can help,” he said.
He encourages other students to take on similar initiatives. He’s confident the community will support them, just like it did for him.
“Everyone in the community is willing to help out,” he said. “Every door I went to, if they had something, they’d give it to me.”