An Ottawa elementary school raised so much food during a drive for the food bank that the army had to be called in to pick all of it up.
For students and staff at Vimy Ridge Public School, in the Findlay Creek neighbourhood of Ottawa, a little goes a long way.
“We asked everybody to bring in one item, and we far surpassed that,” says Principal Cheryl Sevigny. “Originally, when the food bank truck came, there were too many boxes; and so, they had to call in the army.”
Boxes of donated goods lined the hallways of the school.
“We have 84 full boxes, which created a train all around the school of just unbelievable support, generosity and mindfulness of the people in need,” says teacher Lisa Levitan.
“We can’t believe how much stuff came in. Non-perishable items, things we hadn’t even thought of – not only food items, but we had diapers, shampoo, and soaps, and things that any family would need to have at this time of year,” she says.
With the army called in to help, all of that giving provided a good lesson for the children,
“Everybody is struggling right now, and during the holidays more so,” says Sevigny. “We were looking for a way for our school community to help, especially our students, so that they would realize that every person can make a difference, even one child can make a difference to somebody.”
