Written by Hayley Apted, Student Journalist
On October 10, 2019, students at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Barrie got into the spirit of Thanksgiving with a charity drive for the Youth Haven organization, organized by the school’s social justice club.
The social justice team knew that Youth Haven needed more than just the general canned food items, so ‘themes’ were assigned to different groups within the school. Grade 9 and 10 students were asked to bring in non-perishable food items, grades 11 and 12 were given the responsibility of hygiene items, and staff members donated lightly used clothing. The donations were kept in the school chapel - cardboard boxes filled with charity stacked ceiling-high, surrounded by the house of God was a heartwarming symbol of the values of the Catholic faith.
The school had one week to bring in their items. By the final days of the drive, charitable enthusiasm ran high. Students were hustling down the halls asking others if they had any spare change; last-minute mini-fundraisers, held because groups of students were running to the department store down the road during their lunch breaks to buy more items to donate. Entire classes returned to the school with hundreds of dollars worth of donations. The turnout - almost 3000 items were brought in by the staff and students together.
This was record breaking for the school. The social justice team is proud of their community and anticipating the same enthusiasm for the upcoming Christmas drive!