By: Meryk H. '29
As part of a Grade 5 Elementary School Encore group, my experience with the Magic of Christmas Foothills was wonderful. Encore is a co-curricular activity that some Elementary School students participate in. Our Encore group started off by figuring out what we wanted to do with the time that we had. We decided on helping a local foundation for Christmas that would help people in need. We had many ideas about who we could help, such as:
- The Mustard Seed in Calgary, gives people in need basic necessities, meals and shelter. The Mustard Seed also helps people with finding employment and permanent housing.
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It Takes a Village (ITAV) Okotoks, provides families in need with essential baby supplies for babies under one year.
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Calgary Homeless Foundation tries to make sure that there are no homeless people on the streets of Calgary.
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Calgary/Okotoks Food Bank supplies food to those in need
Ms. Ghali, our Encore teacher, introduced us to a group called the Magic of Christmas Foothills. The group accepts new gifts/toys to distribute to kids in need around High River, Okotoks, Black Diamond and Turner Valley. The Magic of Christmas Foothills is the group we decided to help.
Once we had an organization to help, we put the word out to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and staff at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School. We collected gifts for over four weeks and provided reminders in student assemblies that we were still able to collect gifts.
Once we collected all the gifts, our Encore group counted them and helped load them into the Magic of Christmas Foothills SUV’s. We filled two SUVs full of toys! The Magic of Christmas Foothills received 344 gifts! We are so happy that about 300 kids will be getting one or more gifts this holiday season.
Giving back to the community made me feel amazing, helpful, and all warm and fuzzy inside. Purchasing gifts and imagining seeing the smile on people’s faces when they receive them is an exceptional feeling. I encourage anyone to help their community in any way they can. When a community comes together, many small donations can go a long way. Thank you to the STS community for participating in giving to the Magic of Christmas Foothills.