Charity Work Day: Making Change in the Community

With May fast approaching and the Brentwood bubble busier than ever, reflecting upon amazing feats that the school orchestrates is always important. April 1st was Charity Work Day, the annual event that fuses the small community of Brentwood with the entire Cowichan Valley, all providing service to raise funds for deserving charities.  Released into a 20 kilometre radius around the school, 478 students set out for a day of hard work. 78 groups, ranging from four to twenty, lended helping hands doing yard work, cleanups, and general manual labour. All of this time was paid for by our ‘employers’ with all funds being donated to various charities around the area.  A grand total of over $18,000 was raised and approximately $15,000 will be donated to local charities with the remainder going to one international charity, usually linked to a Brentwood Service trip. Other organizations such as the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society, Providence Farm, and Cowichan Valley Therapeutic Riding Society were helped as they received our labour free of charge. The charities that will be prioritized are ones that help children in need, ones that help people with mental health challenges, and the Cowichan Valley Hospice Society. But the thing that really made the day special was all the hard-working, smiling students who had zero complaints and were doing their part for this amazing community day. “The students were unbelieveable” says Mr. Marius Felix, “There was not one negative comment from anybody.” Cards and thank yous are pouring in as well. Safe to say that this year's Charity Work Day was a complete success.  Gina B, Mackenzie ‘17