Cloverdale Traditional School students Nurain Lakhani and Zachary Wallace were so moved by the plight of young evacuees from Fort McMurray that they realized they had to do something, and quick.
The pair realized children displaced by the wildfires would soon arrive in strange and unfamiliar new schools, where they would be starting over in classrooms without their school supplies.
First thing that Monday, they approached their school principal, Lisa Chambers, asking if there was a way they could help spearhead fundraising efforts at the school.
“My reaction was, ‘‘Absolutely, let’s figure out how to make this happen,’’” Chambers recalled last week, adding the boys already had a proposal worked out, including a draft letter to send to parents, asking for donations.
“They even had a plan for how they would collect donations from classrooms,” she said of the Grade 6 boys. “It was very sweet – it was probably one of the cutest things I’ve had happen.”
Nurain Lakhani’s mom searched out schools in need of supplies using Facebook, where she discovered a small school called Winding River School that was in urgent need.
Winding River’s principal then contacted Campbell, setting the plan into motion. The K-6 school is next to a campground where many families fleeing Fort McMurray’s wildfires have moved.
“These are very tiny schools, having them arrive out of nowhere,” has been difficult to cope with, Chambers said, adding the student population at Winding River has jumped from about 40 students to as many as 50 or 60.
The boys convinced their entire school to help out, imploring fellow students through daily PA announcements, collecting cash and recording donations, and sourcing a local supplier.
Their fundraising efforts snowballed – the school’s 300-plus students helped collect enough donations to fill seven large boxes bound for Alberta.
The boys were thrilled when Staples in Cloverdale offered discounts on items they purchased – and provided free courier services to transport the donated goods.
Last week, Cloverdale Traditional School received an email and photograph from Winding River School praising Lakhani and Wallace for initiating the fundraiser, and for gaining the support of staff and students to help the children who have been displaced by the wildfires.
“The leadership your students showed with this initiative is commendable and you should be very proud,” read the note, which was accompanied by a photo of students holding their new supplies.
“This has been a very busy couple of months here at our little school with our numbers tripling in size and almost all the students coming to us with no supplies. It certainly was a welcome surprise to receive all your boxes.”
The boys want to challenge other schools in Surrey to help. With the current school year at a close, the focus is now on having more supplies available for September when classes resume after summer break.
“They’re going to need just as much help in the fall,” Chambers said.
“There’s going to be tons of schools in crisis mode.”