The alternative school program at Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Secondary supports low income teens from the Downtown East Side with food, clothing, supplies, transportation and field trip costs.  Some students don’t have enough to eat at home, some don’t have coats just hoodies for all weathers, and some skip school because it’s too far to walk or skateboard in the rain.

The school’s youth and family worker, Jennifer Eayrs, says these are the main reasons for the school’s request for $15,000 from The Vancouver Sun Children’s Fund Adopt-A-School campaign. The money will pay for breakfast, lunch and snacks for the 20 teenagers enrolled in TAP (Tupper Alternative Program), some clothes and emergency bus fares for when the weather is bad.