Holiday Giving Fair!

During my first practicum, the school ran a Winter Holiday Giving Fair that the students and their families were able to attend. The main idea behind the Giving Fair was to give the community an opportunity to give to others during this holiday season (December 2014). 

The school had students of many backgrounds and religions, so the school decided to not hold a "Christmas-themed" event. Many families were extremely appreciative of this. 

In the Giving Fair, students and their families had the opportunity to see a musical called "Flakes" performed by many students in grade 3 and 4, stuff warm socks and create "bunnies" both stuff with comfort items to be given out at the Mustard Seed and Calgary Drop-In Shelter, write notes and well-wishes for the world, create holiday cards to be given to residents of a senior's care centre, take family photos at a professional photo booth, and donate to both the food bank and the GoATeem. Personally, I assisted with guiding families to these different activities and helped at three of these activity areas. 

A couple of my colleagues and I had a photo taken of us at the photo booth (shown on right) to commemorate a few things:
- our desire to help our school community
- our desire to help the world
- our teamwork and hard-work
- friendship
- our practicum term at the school
- our successes

Assisting with the school's Winter Holiday Giving Fair was extremely rewarding and it was great to show the community our desire to help them help others. Everyone has the capability of positively influencing the world and we loved showing everyone that it can take many forms, even if it's just giving a wish.

GoATeem!

During my first practicum, the elementary school held a fundraiser for the purpose of purchasing goats for low-income families in developing countries. These goats provide families with the opportunities for nourishment (milk) and income (selling milk). 

This fundraiser helped young students to understand the importance of giving aid to those who struggle, as well as take the opportunity to learn about these four-legged creatures that we call goats. Did you know that a group of goats is called a "trip"?

Along with many participants, I donated to the GoATeem and had my picture taken with a "Goatee" beard, shown here. My picture, along with everyone else's picture (who has donated) is printed and posted along a wall in a school to show everyone the kind of care the school community had for those in need. 

This shows that it doesn't take much to get involved with students and the school community, and that together, a community can make a large difference on the world, one goat at a time. 
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