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These kids know it's better to give than to receive

Sudbury Christian Academy students donate backpacks filled with gifts to Elgin Street Mission

Every Christmas Eve, the Elgin Street Mission puts on a special holiday dinner for its clients — the city's homeless and needy population. In 2015, around 150 people attended that dinner.

This year, 170 bags of gifts have been generously donated by community members to hand out at the dinner. Any extras will be passed on to other organizations that also serve those in need.

The Sudbury Christian Academy community is responsible for packing 40 of those gift bags, many of them for children — there were several kids who attended last year's Christmas Eve dinner at the Mission.

The school thoughtfully packed their gifts in backpacks so they can be easily carried.

“I think the school is fabulous,” said Valerie Goard, the Elgin Street Mission volunteer who's heading up the Christmas gift initiative.

“(Sudbury Christian Academy vice-principal Fay Best), who responded to my request, has just been fabulous in organizing everything. I think the children are just unbelievable.”

Last year, Best's class at Sudbury Christian Academy packed care packages for homeless people filled with toiletries, socks and gloves and food items, and distributed them downtown.

When she heard the Elgin Street Mission was looking for bags of presents to give out at its Christmas dinner, she thought it was a good opportunity to involve the entire school.

“The thing I most hope is that it teaches the students to have compassion and to care about others, even if they don't know who the other is,” said Best, who, on top of her vice-principal duties, currently teaches Grade 7 and 8 at the private elementary school based out of Glad Tidings church.

“I hope that they would understand that there are people that don't have as much as they have that are in need of almost everything we take for granted — a toothbrush, toothpaste, mittens and hats.”

Grade 8 student Abigail Glass said her family packed a backpack intended for a girl aged about five.

“I've seen my little cousins being so excited on Christmas morning, getting all the presents,” said the 13-year-old.

“It makes me feel good, knowing that someone less fortunate can get something that their parents might not have been able to get for them.”


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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