This week a truckload of gifts packaged in shoe boxes was taken away to be delivered to less fortunate children in other parts of the world.
The Estevan Comprehensive School donated 115 shoe boxes of goodies that most of the youth in Canada may consider to be ordinary. For the children who will be receiving the school supplies and clothes, the gifts mean a great deal. They mean an education as well as a chance to play.
This year Margaret Duncan, teacher and co-ordinator of the social justice club, which organizes this campaign, said the boxes' destination is Haiti.
Students at ECS have been preparing shoe boxes of goods since the beginning of November, in anticipation of loading up the truck for its departure this week. The boxes are collected and sent out so the less fortunate will have something to open on Christmas morning.
Duncan and Ashley Cote started the social justice club at the school two years ago, and 12 students are now involved. The round up of boxes is one of the club's yearly projects.
The club asked first-period classes to collect items that would be suitable for a Christmas shipment to the children in need.
Brayden Gervais, a Grade 11 student, has been in the club for two years and was out encouraging everyone he knew to donate something to the cause.
"For Operation Christmas Child, the members of the social justice club have been promoting the activity in the school. We have been collecting items for our period one classes and bringing them in," said Gervais.
The campaign closed on Monday when the club went to each class first thing in the morning to retrieve the donations. Individuals could also donate money, which is used mostly to cover costs of shipping, and the school raised $881.25 by the final count on Tuesday. After school on Tuesday, club members were packing all the toys and school goods into shoe boxes, some for boys and others for girls.
They would be sent to the Alliance Church in Estevan, before heading to Calgary and then on to Haiti, said Duncan.
For the past month, the students involved have been raising awareness of their campaign.
"We've been telling all our friends, all our families to donate to the school or just donate to the church locally,' said Gervais.
"I think it's for a really great cause, and I think it's really good what we're doing, giving less fortunate kids overseas a chance to have a good Christmas like we would have here."
"They do the 30-hour famine as well, and we like to make the students aware of days that come along that look at stereotyping and other social issues," said Duncan.
Cote noted the school has been involved in the Operation Christmas Child program for a number of years, annually getting into the holiday spirit of giving to a cause that sees children receive school supplies and toys. She said that since the social justice club was started, this campaign fits under the type of projects that they have, so they have taken over the organizing for the time being.
For Gervais, he takes part because he wants to help the less fortunate, so they can enjoy some of the comforts that everyone else does.
"It's really important for me to get involved in this, and to make the world a better place. That's what the social justice club is aimed at doing," he said, adding that he gets involved because "I feel like I'm doing something good for the community and everywhere as a whole. It's been really good to promote social justice in the school and in Estevan."
