UPDATE JAN. 3, 2023: This event has now been cancelled.
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
Students at Alberni District Secondary School (ADSS) are planning a day of family-friendly events to raise awareness and funds for the homeless in the community.
Some students in Anne Ostwald’s Social Justice 12 class have come up with a unique idea for a class project that will raise funds for the Port Alberni Shelter Society, while also providing an evening of fun for young families and teens. HAY Day (which stands for Homeless Awareness Youth Day), Kids Care Too, will take place at Glenwood Centre on Friday, Jan. 13 from 4-7 p.m.
The evening will involve plenty of family-friendly activities, like games, crafts, a cake walk, face painting and a drumming circle with Nuu-chah-nulth education worker Aaron Watts.
“We used to have a lot of these fun days at our elementary schools,” explained Grade 12 student Alia Adams, who is one of the event organizers. “We took some of those ideas, so we could relive the experience we had and bring it back.”
But the day isn’t just about having fun. The event is a fundraiser for the local shelter and the Shelter Farm, and will include tables full of information and resources for students and people in poverty.
“We knew we wanted to do some sort of activity within the community,” said another Grade 12 student, Jayden Blake. “The whole basis of it is also awareness. We’ve been talking to wellness and support workers from the Shelter Society.”
Students have broken up into different groups, each planning a separate facet of the event. Some students are putting together care packages full of essentials and are asking for donations of hygiene products and warm clothing at the event.
There will be an indoor thrift store called Thrift Up Lift Up, and students will be collecting donations of clothing, appliances and books through a box at the front of the school starting Jan. 4. The donations will be re-sold at a low price, with all proceeds going towards the shelter.
Another part of the event will be a Chatter Café, which is based on the concept of a human library. Students are inviting people in the community, such as veterans and firefighters, to come to the Glenwood Centre and share their life stories.
Over the next few weeks, students will be handing out posters and making presentations at the local elementary schools to spread word of the event.
“It’s open to the whole community,” explained Blake. “We want as many people as possible to be there.”
Anyone interested in getting involved in the event can reach out to aostwald@sd70.bc.ca.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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