Volunteers, bus tickets and breakfast needed in Maple Ridge
Suburban living doesn’t get much better than in Maple Ridge, says Trevor Connor, principal of Maple Ridge Secondary. And on a bright day in the midst of the tidy, well-kept homes that surround his school, it appears self-evident. But – appearances notwithstanding – not everyone here is living the suburban dream. “Because it’s such a […]
Telus, Hyatt join forces to help school: Family day at Beaconsfield part of ongoing contribution to community
Earlier this year, Lord Beaconsfield Elementary’s classroom computer system that was on the verge of collapsewas rescued by a $25,000 Telus donation to The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School campaign. The school had asked AAS for money to buy computers to replace ones that had stopped working. This was limiting students’ ability to learn a technology-based curriculum. […]
Community comes to rescue of hungry families in Surrey
Such is the state of poverty in some North Surrey homes that a family recently had only a single onion to eat between them all weekend. “That’s all they had,” said Liane Ricou, an official with the Surrey School Board. “We know of families that don’t even have that. They’ll go all weekend without eating […]
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 […]