Homeless teens often stay hidden
Homelessness among teenagers is an invisible epidemic, says Dawne Tomlinson, principal of Langley Secondary. “You will see homeless adults in Langley but you won’t see homeless teenagers because they are invisible. They wear all the right things and stuff because they are so much more vulnerable if they look homeless: vulnerable in school, vulnerable on […]
Truck makes hefty Christmas haul; London Drugs marks fifth annual toy run with donations to five schools
It’s not a sleigh, and there are no reindeer, but there are Santa’s helpers, so when that big blue and white truck pulled up outside Bonaccord elementary school in Surrey on Wednesday morning it was like Christmas had arrived early for several dozen of the school’s neediest students. As London Drugs’ Wendy Hartley and driver […]
Meet a success story: Teen mom credits her education and career to CABE program
This time of year, charity fatigue often sets in. As we’re busily recovering from the bounty that is Christmas, or maybe even planning to hit a few Boxing Day sales, it somehow seems even more pressing to stop for a moment and think about others in need, the less fortunate who live outside our orbit. […]
Beedie Group helps children in need, stepping forward to ‘adopt’ neighborhood school
It’s Friday and lunch day at Burnaby’s Douglas Road Elementary and there’s nothing but joy on the face of principal Mary-Ann Brown as she dishes out the macaroni and cheese to the line of waiting children each holding a plastic container and spoon. “We do this once a week and the kids just love it,” […]
London Drugs toy run is all about Christmas spirit
Should you be in search of the spirit of Christmas, so often lost in the rush to retail and piles of wrapping paper, look no farther than the delighted face of a youngster receiving an unexpected gift from a not-so-secret Santa. Look no farther than Shania Johnson, who is in Grade 12 at the Coquitlam […]
SOS saves families from hunger
Each month the SOS room in the basement of Norquay elementary offers a lifeline to as many as 14 impoverished families. The acronym stands for Support Our Students but it’s too close to the international Morse signal for immediate rescue for there to be any doubts what it’s all about. And Margaret Jorgensen, who inherited […]
Donors help Charlie’s Closet keep Tupper secondary students well dressed
A year ago Charlie’s Closet was almost bare – just two used T-shirts on a rickety clothes rack in a small storage room at Tupper secondary school in east Vancouver. Hardly an inventory to be of much help for impoverished students needing socks, underwear, coats, pants, jackets, shirts or shoes. “We didn’t have much. I […]
Canucks coach Willie Desjardins returns to class to talk to kids about teamwork
A qualified social worker and holder of two teaching degrees, Willie Desjardins has a curious background for a National Hockey League coach. But it showed to good effect Friday in the lunch room of Grandview Elementary School, where in the midst of 160 children, the coach of the Vancouver Canucks looked as comfortable as he […]
A closet for students who don’t have one at home
There are some students attending Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Secondary who own their own cars. And there are some who own only the clothes on their backs. The gulf that exists between those two groups needs no exploring. “Kids with cars? Yes. I remember seeing one kid broken down who didn’t know how to use […]
CABE looks after teen mothers and their children
For many Grade 12 students, graduation year is a hectic but fabled time of anticipation and excitement as the world beyond the classroom waits. But for Vanessa Ellingson — the head and breadwinner of a family of three — the thought of leaving the security of Coquitlam’s smallest secondary school fills her with dread. “I’m […]