Boys and girls who know they will get a present under the tree sometimes need a little help so that they can give a gift to members of their family at Christmas.
The 200 students at George Jay Elementary School in Fernwood can shop at an annual Holiday Emporium. Students get to pick up to four items, for $1 each, as gifts for their family and loved ones. The chosen items are then wrapped by volunteers so that children are able to put them under the tree.
“I bought a present for my mom, dad, brother and a friend,” said Gracie Threlfall, who is in Grade 5.
All the items are donated by the community and money from the sale goes toward parent advisory council activities, such as field trips.
Emporium organizer Kate Wallace, the school’s parents advisory council president, said the event helps build self-confidence in the children because the items are affordable.
She is proud of how the community gets together every year to stage the emporium, with volunteers spending hours of their time helping collect, stage and wrap the presents.
But the best reward is hearing of the outcomes. Toven Taylor’s most memorable item found at the sale one year was a Monopoly game.
“I got to play it with my grandfather that Christmas,” said the Grade 4 student.
Students lauded for charity efforts
Grade 3 and 4 students from Wishart Elementary were recently presented with a Pay it Forward award for raising more than $6,500 for children affected by the typhoon in the Philippines.
Colwood mayor Carol Hamilton honoured the children’s achievements at a council meeting Monday in front of teachers and family members of the students.
Hands-on help for the Philippines
Along with raising money, two young women are travelling to the Philippines to help rebuild schools in the aftermath of the devastating typhoon.
Andrea Morris, from Victoria, and her friend Alex Bowman, from the Comox Valley, are hoping to raise $5,000 to purchase school supplies, equipment and building materials to construct a school on the island of Bantayan.
But their charity doesn’t stop there. The two will travel to the Philippines, using their own money for travel and personal expenses, and help with the rebuilding efforts.
“For us, it just seemed the right thing to do,” Bowman said. “We all need each other in this world.”
They aim to rebuild five schools destroyed by typhoon Haiyan in November. As well as monetary donations, the girls are looking for items such as camping gear and work gear, such as gloves, to distribute to other volunteers and locals.
The two are joining a disaster relief team organized by Young Pioneer Tours, a travel agency that specializes in tours of Southeast Asia.
Donations can be made at youcaring.com/helpbringhope. Andrea Morris can be reached at [email protected] or 250-858-2634.
Fix-A-Heart with cardiac campaign
Canadian Tire will match all donations made by customers at its annual Fix-A-Heart campaign. Until Christmas Eve, shoppers can donate $2 at the till (including Canadian Tire money) to support cardiac care at Royal Jubilee Hospital through the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
Last year, the campaign raised $55,000. In the past decade, the campaign has raised more than $557,000 in support of heart health at the hospital.
Participating dealers include the Douglas Street, View Royal, Royal Oak and Gordon Head locations. For more information, go to victoriahf.ca.
Grocer raises money for Rainbow Kitchen
A one-week campaign by a Saanich greengrocer raised more than $5,000 for the Rainbow Kitchen. The Root Cellar matched customer donations dollar-for-dollar during its campaign, which took place in the first week of December.
The Rainbow Kitchen is a local charity operating out of the Esquimalt United Church. It is open Monday to Friday and serves 38,000 meals annually to people in need in Victoria. For more information, go to rainbowkitchen.ca.
Rotary Club marks 100 years in Victoria
The Rotary Club of Victoria recently celebrated its 100th anniversary by distributing more than $250,000 to a number of legacy projects in Greater Victoria. They also wanted to thank the people of Victoria for their support over the past century.
Under the sponsorship of the Rotary clubs of Vancouver and Seattle, 41 Victoria businessmen founded the 90th Rotary club in the world at an inaugural banquet in the Empress hotel on Nov. 15, 1913.
The service club raises money through a number of events. The club has assisted the programs and services of the Rainbow Kitchen, the Mustard Seed Food Bank, the Cool Aid Society and Craigflower Elementary School. In the past 10 years, the club has disbursed more than $1 million in Greater Victoria.
In an open letter, Rotary president Murray Ramsbottom said, “By focusing the generosity of the Victoria community, the members of the Rotary Club of Victoria have been able to make Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self a force to cause good things to happen in our city. On behalf of the members of the Victoria Rotary Club, and all the organizations and individuals that we have supported in the past century, we thank you most sincerely.”
For more information, go to rotaryvictoria.org.
Donated bikes set to roll into Africa
An item about Bicycles for Humanity in an October Good Neighbours column is credited with spurring donations of at least 100 of the 527 bicycles collected to ship to the needy in Africa. This is the fifth, and largest, container load the charity has filled.
“Each bike has the unique ability to help change a life,” said Chris Wille, co-director of the local chapter of the organization. “They empower some of the world’s poorest people by offering much improved access to health care, education, employment, food and water.”
The bikes are expected to arrive early in the new year. To date, the organization has collected and shipped more than 2,000 good used bikes to Africa.
For more information, go to b4hvictoria.blogspot.ca or bicycles-for-humanity.org.
