What do you get when you take a few dozen junior high school students plus two of their teachers, an amiable bus driver and send them out with a list of names and a map, along with seasonal sheet music and a bunch of presents? You get holiday gold.
Students at William D. Cuts Junior High School believe they have the cure for the Christmas blues. For eight years the school has been bringing cheer to a few dozen area seniors.
With the help and guidance of staff and volunteers at the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club, the 40 students in the school’s grade 8 and 9 leadership class are delivering a series of presents to unsuspecting seniors this holiday season. It’s part of the centre’s Seniors in Need program, an outreach effort to connect elderly local residents with the rest of the community and its social services.
Tara Rodrique, outreach co-ordinator at the club, was on hand to oversee the first round of deliveries on Wednesday.
“It was fantastic,” she said. “For a lot of people at Christmas time, it’s a merry, happy time. It’s hard to think that there’s people out there who perhaps are alone, or do not have the family support. It’s nice to just bring a little Christmas to them as well.”
She added that there was a huge response to requests for donations to the effort, more so than in previous years. This allowed her to make the gifts even more special, with gift cards from local stores. Students also made cookies and cards to go into each delivery and an anonymous elf knitted scarves for them all as well.
“It’s an easy program to run because everybody is in the spirit. They appreciate what they have themselves and just want to share that with others,” Rodrique said.
JoAnn Blachford is the vice-principal at Cuts and one of the teachers in the leadership program. She explained that, throughout the school year, the students are given the task of getting out into the community at large and finding ways to make it a better place. They volunteer at the food bank and the Mustard Seed church in Edmonton, along with helping run or simply participating in programs at area elementary schools and the seniors’ club.
This delivery barely seemed like work, she said. The students were rambunctious with energy, singing Christmas carols even on the bus, but they also experienced the emotional payback that comes from doing good for others.
“The kids loved it. It’s just the most meaningful learning that you can have. I said to them, ‘One day, that’s going to be you and I’,” Blachford said.
It’s meaningful to the recipients too. Albert and Leslie Christensen got a special delivery on Wednesday, just like they did last year.
“We really enjoyed it. It was really thrilling,” Albert stated.
At the time of Wednesday’s delivery Leslie was wearing the handmade bracelet that came from a student last year.
“Leslie told her that she would wear the bracelet every day and she did,” Albert said. “To me, it’s quite something when something like that happens. We’re well honoured.”
