SD73 students and staff give back this holiday season

Season of student giving

Photo: Contributed

Board chair Heather Grieve (front row centre) and the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education

As we approach the winter break, students and staff across the Kamloops-Thompson School District are not only celebrating the holiday season with concerts, performances and gatherings, they are also giving back to their communities in significant ways.

The District Strategic Plan vision is to foster educated and resilient citizens empowered to contribute to a diverse, inclusive, caring and sustainable society. Not only are we focused on creating learning environments where students can thrive academically, our district values also emphasize the importance of connections, community, and equity.

Over the past month, several school communities have partnered with the Kamloops Food Bank to donate time and food while raising awareness about food insecurity in our community.

Grade 12 students from the Kamloops School of the Arts recently visited the Kamloops Food Bank to build more than 350 food hampers that will support families in need with nutritious food over the holiday season.

Four other Kamloops secondary schools also supported the Kamloops Food Bank during the seventh annual Secondary School Food Drive. Over the past serval weeks, students turned friendly rivalry into meaningful community impact by collecting a total of 4,916 pounds of food across all four schools (beating last year’s total of 3,217 pounds), which is the equivalent of $17,900 worth of food.

Students and staff at this year’s food drive winner, Westsyde Secondary School, collected and donated 1,729 pounds of non-perishable food, which equaled 2.25 pounds per student.

WSS students and staff also hosted their third annual Empty Bowls fundraiser earlier this month to raise money for the Kamloops Food Bank. The annual event is inspired by the Empty Bowls movement that started in 1990 with two teachers in a small town in Michigan and continues to raise awareness about food insecurity and hunger around the world.

For this year’s event, WSS students made approximately 150 bowls and over 100 soup bowl cozies and created new soup recipes to serve at the event. After enjoying a meal, event attendees kept the student made bowls but were asked to leave them empty as a reminder of those whose bowls are often bare. The WSS Empty Bowls event raised $3,750 for the Kamloops Food Bank (in addition to their Secondary School Food Drive non-perishable donations).

These experiences offer powerful and rewarding learning for students. By focusing on giving back and exploring the realities of food insecurity, students are reminded of the importance of community, how much they are grateful for, and that every contribution, no matter the size, matters and makes a significant difference.

When asked to reflect on these experiences, students shared that those events and initiatives are important because of how they help build community, raise awareness and support a greater cause.

Students aren't the only ones who are committed to giving back this holiday season. On Dec. 12, district staff and principals visited the Kamloops Food Bank to package and deliver 275 Starfish backpacks. This partnership with the Kamloops Food Bank has been an invaluable program that supports students and their families by delivering backpacks full of food to school-aged children to ensure they have enough to eat for every weekend throughout the school year.

Staff have also been donating to the district’s annual United Way Employee Giving Campaign, supporting important United Way B.C. programs that have a direct impact on communities throughout the school district, including the Schools’ Out Program, Community Food Hubs, Youth Futures Education Fund and the Future Leaders Program.

As we celebrate the season of giving, we are grateful for all of the contributions that make such a difference to those who need it most.

On behalf of the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education—thank you to all the SD73 staff, students and families who are making a positive impact on our communities this holiday season.

Heather Grieve is the chair of the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education.