A Grade 7/8 class in Sarnia helped Enactus Lambton collect two carloads of toys for the Inn of the Good Shepherd.
The Enactus Team launched a toy drive last month in support of the Inn's Adopt-A-Family Program, an initiative that supports over 400 families.
Daniel Cicchelli, a Grade 7/8 teacher at Holy Trinity Catholic School, said his students felt compelled to help out.
Enactus Lambton Toy Drive in support of the Inn of the Good Shepherd's Adopt-A-Family program. December 2022. (Photo by Enactus Lambton)
"[Enactus] comes into our classroom weekly to work with our students on finding ways to create positive social change, not only in school but in our community as well. And after hearing that the Enactus Team was holding a toy fundraiser, our students thought it would be a good idea to support them with this thoughtful initiative."
Cicchelli said his students were able to raise $525 to purchase 85 toys.
Thank you Enactus Lambton! Our classroom raised over 500 dollars and purchased 85 toys to donate to our friends at @LambtonCollege. Thank you for all that you do to encourage our students to think about how they can impact change in our community! @SCCDSB #sccdsb pic.twitter.com/yyitxpwuet
— Daniel Cicchelli (@mrcicchelli) December 14, 2022
"So students were donating through our school fundraising platform, parents, family members. We also had staff and families dropping off some toys at the front of the school. So it really was awesome to see that people really did recognize that this was student-led, and that students wanted to have an impact on our community."
Cicchelli said as a classroom teacher, your goal is to help foster where students want to take leadership.
"And I think this is something that the students saw the impact that they'll have. So hopefully in the future it's something that the students will naturally want to continue."
In a post on social media, the Enactus Team thanked Cicchelli's class, The Toy Corner, Starbucks and the Sarnia-Lambton community for their support during the toy drive.
With the support of the community, The Toy Corner, Starbucks, and @mrcicchelli grade 7 & 8 class at Holy Trinity we delivered 2 car loads full of new toys to @theinnsarnia.Thank you for making Christmas wishes come true! pic.twitter.com/wWi5uahsLR
— Enactus Lambton (@EnactusLambton) December 19, 2022
With files from Stephanie Chaves