Have you ever wondered how getting together with a group of friends, sharing ideas and plans can make an impact on the world?
At Mary Shadd Public School, we have a student club called Young Women on the Move (YWM). This club meets every Thursday and gives young women at Mary Shadd a chance to gather together. Ms. Scott and Mrs. Skilton spend their after school time leading the group in activities and conversations that enable us to elaborate on our knowledge about how other people struggle. The YWM group spends time talking about social justice issues that occur around the world which can cause harm to others. We try to think of solutions to these problems and ways we can help. During one of the discussions, the YWM group came up with an amazing idea. We decided to help the homeless youth in Toronto by raising money to buy backpacks and filling them up with basic essentials (e.g., blankets, socks, personal hygiene products, etc.).
The members of YWM needed sponsors to raise money to help the homeless youth. We decided to write letters to businesses in our community to request their support and ask them to contribute to our project! We soon realized that we couldn’t just rely on sponsors and we would also need to raise money. We therefore decided to raise money by conducting a bake sale. All members of YWM contributed by bringing in delicious food and baked goods! YWM’s bake sale was a huge success. As a result of everyone’s hard work and perseverance, we raised over $400!
We used the money to purchase backpacks and essentials for the homeless youth. Walmart donated $50 to our project. After purc
hasing the products, we packed them in backpacks and a volunteer from the homeless shelter Covenant House arranged for their delivery to homeless youth.
All the members of our YWM group want to help others in need. A special thanks to Ms. Scott and Mrs. Skilton for making these projects possible! All the members of the Mary Shadd YWM group demonstrate the following characteristics: Caring, Confidence and Courage! We may be young but we have ideas that are wise. We have excelled at meeting our goals this year and we hope to accomplish even more in the future!
Submitted by: Grade 7 students Luxsha Arunthavanayagam and Shajaky Parameswaran