Charity Work Day 2019

On Saturday, March 30th, nearly every student in the school, unless injured or ill, played a key role in raising funds destined for non-profit organizations in the Cowichan Valley, dedicated to improving the lives of people less fortunate. This annual event is an "all hands on deck" effort, which sent over 380 students to 58 different venues around the Cowichan Valley. Logistically, this relied on our incredible bus driving team, coordinated by our Transportation Manager, Kayla Kulczycki, who managed to get the students and teachers to each place, on time, and then four to five hours later, get everyone back on campus. Melanie Ross, our receptionist - and if truth be told, my boss - meticulously recorded and organized our clients and created a spreadsheet which coordinated the day. If students were not hired off campus, the School hired and put them to work on campus, gratefully assisted by our facilities team who were catching up after an unusually heavy snow season. The boys rugby team, who had a game later in the day, went into the Mill Bay area in groups of four and collected any litter that has accumulated. We also ran a car wash by donation, which was very successful. Every teacher who was available led a group of students in this endeavour. The real stars on the day were our students. The feedback cards we send with each group returned with stellar comments. Below are few examples "Our crew was fabulous. Can you run this kind of day more often? We would hire them in a heartbeat!" "Our "girl power crew" was AMAZING! Positive and hard-working. We could not have asked for a better group!" "I cannot give enough stars! The teacher and every student were amazing - lovely, engaged and fun - the BEST! Will definitely hire a group again next year!" I could add dozens more. The goal behind Charity Work Day is to help those in the local area who are in need by raising much needed financial aid. The fringe benefits, however, are significant. By design, students are put into groups with students they may not know well. Teachers supervise each group on the day, furthering their connections with students they may not teach. The collective effort shows students the power of a united goal. The day is an important one in our calendar. Long may it continue. Marius Felix, Deputy Head