The Rudolph Roundup community Christmas fundraiser powered by students at the Lloydminster Comprehensive is hitting its 25th year stride.
Boxes have been distributed to Lloydminster businesses as students engage in a friendly contest to raise cash and other donations for the Interval Home.
The effort led by some 70-students in the leadership group at the Lloyd Comp is marking
Grade 12’s Reese Hassal is one of the organizers who has pitched in by setting up donation categories for the students, personal contributions and getting boxes out to local stores.
“That’s an additional initiative in order to get as much support from the community as possible. So we have put boxes at different businesses around town for anyone in the community to donate items and cash donations as well.”
The roundup, named after the red-nosed reindeer whose nose illuminated a foggy Christmas Eve, sheds light on a cause that allows the students to gain perspective on the role of the Interval Home in the community, explains leadership teacher Dwayne Jeffery.
“Our kids who are in charge of this event got to go to the Interval Home and see it up close and personal and it really opens their eyes to how powerful this is. The average kid does not understand about women fleeing domestic violence. So they understand the impact it has and they understand that it happens in our community.”
Jeffery has been at the school for 18-years and reflects on the origin story of the highschool-led community event.
“Tracey Mills, I believe started it and she used to do it as part of her media studies class, which was a grade 11 alternate class for English. That class focussed on advertising, promotions and community. She started it then and it kept getting bigger.”
Over the COVID-restrictions the event was suspended but as regular school activities have resumed, Jeffery says students want to get more involved and “they see community in a different way than before COVID.”
Rudolph Roundup runs until Dec. 7.