Students at Jack Kemp Community School sent out gifts to children around the world this week.
The school was taking part in Operation Christmas Child, a non-profit project ran by Samaritan’s Purse. The aim of the effort is to fill as many shoeboxes with as possible with toys, school supplies, and other gifts. These donations are gathered from Canadian schoolchildren and their families, and are sent to less-fortunate areas of the globe.
On Thursday morning, the Serving Our Society (SOS) team at the school gathered up the donations from classrooms throughout Jack Kemp. According to Denise Block, the Targeted Skills teacher at the school and the facilitator of the program, 2016 was a record year.
“Last year we set a new record of 63 boxes at Jack Kemp, and this year I know we’re over 80,” said Block.
“I’m really thrilled with how many more items the students have brought.”
Block also discussed how the SOS team pitched the program across the school.
“They go and educate each classroom, and then each classroom was given two boxes initially to fill, one for a boy and one for a girl, and then any additional materials they would add in to extra boxes,” said Block.
“Part of our initiative is to not only develop a local understanding of need in our community, but a global understanding, and so we’ve prepped our SOS team to understand what it looks like in other countries.”
The boxes collected this year at Jack Kemp will be sent to Ukraine and South America, according to Block. The final deadline for anyone who wishes to compile a box is November 20, 2016. Boxes can be dropped off at Southridge Community Church.