By Sarah Klein
Siloam Mission, 300 Princess Street (HANDOUT)
A large donation of blankets and other items was made to Siloam Mission Friday morning, after rural students came together to collect quilts, sheets and towels for Winnipeg’s less fortunate.
Grade 4 to 6 students from Lac Du Bonnet’s Centennial School went around their community collecting funds and blankets for the initiative, which included everyone from local trustees to the RCMP.
“We wanted to teach the students leadership, citizenship, responsibility and respect,” said Naomi Harley, a teacher who organized the activity. “We wanted to recognize the global community and their struggles — we have it so good here, that we often forget about others who aren’t as fortunate.”
Besides the donations, each of the 217 students in the school made one quilt patch with their handprint on it for a large quilt prepared by the Riverside Quilters.
The collections were only supposed to last two weeks, but community members kept bringing in donations past the deadline, which brought the number of blankets, quilts and sheets up to 287.
“Through seemingly little steps, they are making the world a better place. If these kids are the future, I have a feeling we’ll be just fine,” said Floyd Perras, Siloam Mission’s executive director.
