FERGUS – St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Fergus has raised $6,000 to support twelve families.
The two-day event saw students raise money through its Christmas Family Fundraiser which included making holiday cards and participating in festivities.
“It’s a pretty special thing that we’ve had so much support. It’s one of my favorite things that we look forward to every year and the kids love it,” said organizer and St. Joseph CS in Fergus teacher, Michael Burt in a news release.
Now in its eleventh year, Burt says that more than ever there are families in need at this time of year and the school community really showed up to for them.
He says when they started this initiative they had about five families that needed help.
“Now we are between twelve and thirteen – and we know there is always more support we can provide. So we keep additional money aside going into the new year for things like clothing and hygiene items, groceries – to help give things they need for the year. We’ve used money before to get kids into swimming lessons and involve them in activities and things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to do,” Burt said.
In addition to the fundraiser, students delivered Christmas cards to local nursing homes.
“It is a pretty special feeling, my students know that when they wake up and know that when they are going down and excited about their own gifts, they know that there are kids here in our school community that are experiencing that same thing because of what we are all doing together,” said Burt. “At the end of the day, it’s about helping people.”
While the fundraiser has now come to a completion, the school is always accepting donations to help families in need throughout the year.
