St. Louis School Social Justice Club raises $560 for Salvation Army's Miracle Marathon

St. Louis School Social Justice Club raises $560 for Salvation Army's Miracle Marathon
Posted on 12/13/2019
Group holding large check

Group holding large check

Students in the Social Justice Club at St. Louis School have been working hard raising money for local charities. On Thursday the students were proud to donate a cheque for $560 to the Salvation Army in support of their Miracle Marathon from their latest fundraiser.

Grade 5 student Arlie Olson explains how they raised the money.

"We did a gently used sale. So everyone had a couple of days to bring in donations. We took them and set up tables and then students could preview the sale on Dec. 5th and then we held the sale on Dec. 6th. Classes came in one by one and they could buy gifts for their family, friends or other special people," she said.

Olson said they received a variety of items from toys to books to mugs to jewelry and mitts, scarves and hats. Members of the Social Justice Club helped organize the items and then sell them to students. Olson was pretty happy when she found out how much they'd raised.

"I thought it was really exciting and that it would really help the Salvation Army," she said.

Teacher Theresa Clarke started the Social Justice Club back in April of 2019 after a number of students participated in a round table discussion about social justice run by The University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management's I-Think program. Clarke said the activity acted as a jumping board for the students who brought back their ideas to the school and wanted to expand on them.

The club held their first fundraiser in May in support of the Arthritis Society. They sold ice cream sandwiches and were able to donate approximately $80.00.

"When I came back to school this year, the children were very enthusiastic about meeting and planning another event," said Clarke. "The students identified their justice priorities and decided that their first fundraiser would be for Diabetes Canada. They made a short presentation about Diabetes at our Monday assembly and planned a PJ/Stuffy day raising $270.00."

The gently used sale was their third fundraiser.

"They planned the event and the family and community support of donations for the sale was overwhelming," said Clarke. "Children were very excited to purchase special items for their Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and cousins. The decision to make the donation to the Salvation Army Miracle Marathon was made by the students as they not only wanted to help St. Louis children buy presents for their families, but also wanted to make sure that all children and families would be able to have a merry Christmas."

Grade 5 student Devin Campbell is a member of the club and he explains why he decided to join.

"I thought it was cool that we could make other people's live better," he said.

The Salvation Army's Miracle Marathon donates a couple hundred Christmas hampers to families and individuals in need. This year's Miracle Marathon saw donations totaling more than $25,000 and 3,871 pounds of food and toys.

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