Parents, students look forward to Kerrisdale Christmas sale
Annual event a popular fundraiser for the Empty Stocking Fund
One year, Laura Glover had her eye on an unworn Kate Spade necklace.
It stood out among the thousands of items at the annual Kerrisdale Elementary School fundraiser for the Empty Stocking Fund.
Students shop at the fundraiser for gifts for their siblings, parents and other significant people in their lives. They pay $1 for books and $2 for everything else. Families donate all the items to the event.
Last year, all the loonies and toonies added up to $3,000 for the Empty Stocking Fund.
One of the things that tends to happen is that many of the boys buy jewelry for their mothers.
Glover was hoping her son Paxton, who is nine years old, would pick the designer necklace. Alas, that didn’t happen.
“I didn’t get that one,” she said, referring to the Kate Spade.
“I got something else that year. You cannot control the shopping of your own children — that’s one of the conditions of the sale.”
After previously volunteering to help with the annual fundraiser, Glover is the co-organizer this year as the Parent Advisory Committee co-chair.
She is one of the many parents at the school who looks forward to helping at the annual event.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to shop for all of siblings and family members,” she said.
“We always wind up with so many people wanting to volunteer because it is such an incredibly fun event.”
The fundraiser is also an excuse for people to wear their Christmas sweaters and hats.
The first of the more than 550 students at the school start shopping in the gym at 9 a.m. The event ends at 2 p.m.
Kerrisdale Elementary has been holding an annual Christmas fundraiser for the Empty Stocking Fund since 1996.
This year, the ESF is celebrating its centenary.
One year, Paxton bought her a pair of Dutch shoes. The family is not Dutch, but the shoes meant something special to him.
“I will have those little Dutch shoes forever,” she said.
During the sale, volunteers help students buy gifts for a sister, brother, mother or father. Students start with lists of everyone they’re buying for.
“They’ll buy something for their siblings and they take a lot of pride in what they’ve chosen,” she said.
Dawn Sadler is the new principal at Kerrisdale Elementary. She started in September so hasn’t seen one of fundraisers yet. But she has seen how it’s brought the school together as a community.
“Students, parents, staff are all working together for the Empty Stocking Fund,” she said. “It builds community outside of the school and inside the school.”
Kerrisdale School Winter Holiday Charitable Sale is on Friday, Dec. 14.
Kerrisdale Annex Elementary and its 100 students in K to Grade 3 celebrate their annual charitable Santa Sale the day before, on Thursday, Dec. 13.