The Breakfast Club was a neat teenage-themed movie in the 1980's starring Molly Ringwald. The 2011 Breakfast Club in Estevan features the students of Hillcrest School and stars a cadre of local sponsors led by the Estevan United Way team.
The program that found its impetus in Hillcrest's School Community Council (SCC) offers a solid breakfast for each of the school's 165 students each school-day morning beginning around 8 a.m.
Sara Pippus, president of the SCC, said the program may well roll out to include some after-school programs as well.
With the help of the United Way, students in the school will have the opportunity to get off to a good start every morning with a nutritious breakfast that will feature everything from pancakes, milk and toast to cold cereals on some days or other early morning food options.
"We said we'd partner with the school and other agencies if we could get a program started," said Pippus who was busy directing food preparation teams during the inaugural breakfast run last Thursday morning.
Potential donors were approached, and led by United Way, they responded including those from Tarpon Energy Services, Mid-City Plumbing and Heating, CD Controls Inc. And TD Canada Trust.
Sheila Guenther, president of the UW, said they put $20,000 into their 2011 budget to support the program that will help many children get a good first meal of the day. She said she expected the number of students taking advantage of the program will fluctuate each school day. The early expectations are that the program will cost the sponsors about $100 a day in food supplies that will be handled by staff and the school's more senior students (Grades 7 and 8). For the first few days, the school's Spirit Club members were handling the kitchen and cooking chores along with UW volunteers, but they hoped to form a regular Breakfast Club team as the project moves forward.
"We received some direct individual donations for this too," said Guenther, who expected that other adult volunteers will step up on a scheduled basis, just as the UW is with their promise to help out with the program one day per week.
"The breakfast program is an open invitation to any and all students of Hillcrest School," said Pippus.
The Breakfast Club will work from the school's activities room that features some working space as well as a small kitchen unit that includes pancake grills and a new commercial-sized toaster that had just been delivered and wired up for action.
