Image Credit: Silvia Senna / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

SCHOOL YEAR FUNDRAISING

St. Ann’s Academy students raise more than $6,000 for local charities

Jun 20, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Thousands of dollars donated and thousands of hours volunteering. Students at St. Ann’s Academy learned just how far their efforts went at a year-end assembly this week.

“I expected it was going to be a good amount, but not that much. It was really cool to see,” Grade 7 student Kalah Key told CFJC on Thursday (June 20).

Collectively, the school raised $6,171.46 for various non-profits and organizations this year. Part of that was through monthly theme days, with classes bringing in donations for the chosen cause of the month.

Organizations the school raised money for included the Alzheimer’s Society of BC, BC Children’s Hospital, the Cure Cancer Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Jumpstart, Make a Wish, the Mustard Seed, The Royal Canadian Legion, the Salvation Army and the Terry Fox Foundation.

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When asked what her favourite part of the fundraising was, Key said she liked taking part in the overall experience.

“Getting to help people in the community and getting to go to each class and give them their rewards for reaching their goal.”

Key is among the students who have spent previous years fundraising for theme days who now have their own favourites.

“Probably the one where we did Make a Wish,” she said. “I’ve done it for a while, that one, and it’s probably the most memorable one.”

There’s also a specialized missions club for elementary students, and by the end of the year, the club presented a $2,084.23 cheque for the Hopewell Pregnancy Centre in Kamloops.

“Well really, it was the students,” adds Advancement Officer Suzanne Da Silva. “The students are the ones who are bringing in the money. It’s not the staff. It’s not run by the staff, it’s run by the students, and they really pulled through.”

On the high school side, students spent 2,970 hours volunteering for different events and organizations across the city, along with taking part in 10 breakfast events for street-affected populations and putting together 20 Christmas hampers for families in need.

“We really try to teach our students that it’s not just ‘I, I, I’,” notes Da Silva. “It’s about us and giving back to our community.”

And for students, the payoff comes as a sense of a pride heading into summer break celebrations.

“Very proud of all the work that we’ve done to raise all of the money and all of the activities we got to do. It’s a lot of fun,” adds Key.