A group of 30 or so students from Grade 8 - 12 at McMath secondary got an introduction to the plight of the homeless on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver during a recent sleep over at the school.
Natasha Rennie, who helped organize the event on April 21 along with fellow Grade 12 student and McMath Interact Club member Samantha Maika, said the opportunity was eye-opening for the students who had to raise a minimum of $50 as a donation to Covenant House in Vancouver in order to take part.
In total, $1,300 was raised, including one student raising $250 by themselves.
“We wanted the event to be educational, as well as fun, too,” Rennie said, adding the educational component was met with a slideshow presentation about the state of homelessness in Vancouver.
The fun part was a capture the flag competition staged throughout the school. But in a unique twist, the “treasures” that the students had to try and gather and take back to their own base without being tagged out were items needed by the homeless.
“We had things like a water bottle, a blanket and a banana,” Rennie said. “And then you had to decide which item was the most important item to take back to your own camp.”
The sleep over was preceded by a clothing drive at the school, which also donated items to Covenant House.
“That was ideal because a lot of the clothes were coming from the students themselves. And that’s needed for the younger people who are homeless,” Rennie said. “A lot of the things donated will be the right size.”
This was the second year Rennie and Maika have organized a sleep over to help the homeless.
Rennie’s interest stems for her parents’ involvement in the Cobb’s End Of Day Giving program which passes on leftover bread to charities.
“I would go and help my parents and sort through the bread that was being donated,” Rennie said.
