INNISFAIL – The serving tables were rolled out just under an hour before opening class bell.
Students from the Grade 7 leadership class at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School were then ready for action.
Their special project – the school’s first-ever Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast - had begun on the morning of Oct. 7.
Everyone in the school, more than 320 students and staff, were totally in.
“They (students) wanted to do an act of service for the school, so they made everybody pancakes,” said Nicole Clarke, a Grade 7 and 9 teacher who facilitated the project. “And then by doing that they were hoping if everybody brought in a donation, they could provide Thanksgiving meals for families who are less fortunate in the Innisfail community.
“This is my first time doing a leadership option like this,” added Clarke. “It was a lot of work but the kids were amazing. I'm excited to see how it all comes together.”
As was principal Stefan Labrecque, who emphasized that promoting leadership for the students is a “big, big piece” of St. Marguerite’s mission.
“Her class kind of came up with an idea of how can we bring some awareness to food shortages within our community,” said Labrecque. “We had Heather (Taylor) from the food bank talking to the students and bringing awareness; talking about the needs that we have and so our students wanted to have a kind of call to action.
“We're going to take the proceeds from this to help some of the families we have within our school community to have Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving weekend that a lot of our well-to-do families would normally have.”
The school’s commitment to have the loving call to action was greatly appreciated by Taylor, a long-time helping hand at the food bank, who also attended the Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast on Oct. 7.
“It's wonderful. It's a new initiative, and I really love it,” said Taylor, agreeing Thanksgiving is a Canadian holiday that is often overlooked as a day for stepping up with a celebration to give back to the community. “I agree totally. When we look at our supplies right now it's amazing how much they go down between March and May. We're starting to see some of it come back but we always depend on this time of year and the Christmas season for our donations.”
The project also caught the eye of Sharla Heistad, the region’s school trustee for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools. She also attended the Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast, and was quick to emphasize community was an important component of Catholic education.
“We're involved directly with our community. Our students and our families come from the community, and that's all part of developing our children and seeing the whole child grow,” said Heistad. “It's just showing compassion and leadership that everybody matters.
“It's humanity. It's humility. We just want to support everyone in every way we can,” added Heistad. “Giving thanks means giving thanks for our people, giving thanks for what we have, and to be happy and thankful for what we do have and to share where we can and where we're able to.”
