Two EIPS schools raise awareness about poverty

Dentons Make Your Mark on Poverty, an initiative of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region has awarded SouthPointe School and Next Step Junior Senior High $1000 each.

Both schools have launched their own creative projects that will run throughout the winter to help raise awareness about local poverty.

Next Step Junior Senior High has created an initiative called the Poverty Awareness with Skateboards (PAWS) project. They have partnered with the Old Strathcona Youth Society and eight senior high students will learn about the challenges facing local youth and then transform those stories into skateboard designs.

“It’s important to get students out into the community the see how poverty affects people their own age,” said Next Step teacher Kristian Basaraba. “The skateboards will act as canvases, and bring these stories to life.”

Once the project is finished they will host an exhibit to show off their skateboards.

SouthPointe School is using their grant to fund a project called Warm Hands, Warm Hearts (click here to watch our video).

The project has 17 students in grades 3-4 gathering donations of mittens and winter gloves to then distribute to youth in Fort Saskatchewan. Their goal is to gather roughly 50 pairs of mittens and gloves for each kindergarten to grade 4 school in the Fort. This includes both Catholic and public divisions.

“The students are excited to have an opportunity to run this program,” said SouthPointe teacher Carole Bossert. “In the process, they’re also learning how poverty can affect their friends and neighbours, and how they can work to make a difference in the community.”

SouthPointe School’s initiative.