Westfield students turn school project into fundraiser, raise $500
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Little things can make a difference.
That’s what two Tillsonburg students said they learned while taking on a school project about health care and turning it into something much bigger.
For the project, Westfield Public School students Katie Behman, 11, and Myra Craig, 10, picked the issue of access (or lack of) to health-care in rural areas and chose Ronald McDonald House in London to highlight.
Ronald McDonald House offers shelter to the 70 per cent of Canadians who live outside a city with a children’s hospital.
“We decided to put a fundraiser into action,” Katie said. “We brainstormed and came up with this idea together.”
On Saturday the duo, who are both avid hockey players, hosted a fundraising skate at the Tillsonburg Community Centre where they raised $500 to help families while their child receives vital health care.
Cutting a deal with the arena for 30 per cent off the ice rental, they further reduced the cost of the ice by utilizing donations from friends and families.
Most the dollars raised will go towards housing families at the London organization, with some going to providing small toiletries that may have been forgotten by guests.
The fundraiser also included a raffle table with items donated by local businesses.
“We couldn’t have done it without our sponsors,” Behman said.
Westfield's Kristie Hayward, the student’s teacher, called their efforts “impressive.”
Earlier in the year her students also hosted a talent show that raised $480 for the OSPCA, as well as three boxes of pet supplies.
She said the more the two students learned about Ronald McDonald House, the more they realized how many people were impacted by it.
“It led to a lot of really cool finds for them,” she said.