Focus on Refugees
This April, the entire school community participated in a month of learning and action related to the ongoing Syrian conflict and resulting refugee crisis.
To kick the month’s activities off and help students understand the scope and context of the issue, Caroline Keenan, Senior Specialist with the Education in Emergencies Working Group, visited RSGC to speak to both Junior and Senior students. She addressed both the Syrian situation, as well as refugees in other global conflicts, and spoke about the role of education in helping newcomers integrate into Canadian society. She talked about the galvanizing force of the image of young Alan Kurdi, drowned as his family attempted to find refuge from the conflict, the need to recognize the many conflicts that displace people globally, and how we can contribute to mitigating and addressing these crises.
In addition to the opportunity for students to learn more about refugees in a global and Canadian context, there were also several ways to directly support groups sponsoring families to settle in Toronto, both financially and materially.
Through a partnership with St. John the Evangelist Church in Port Hope and RSGC alum Reverend Jesse Parker ‘01, RSGC was able to raise $20,000 to support the River of Hope Syrian Sponsorship Committee in their efforts to bring a Syrian family safely to Canada. The funds were raised through a variety of activities on and off campus, including everyone from students to parents to staff.
The Headmaster challenged each boy to raise a minimum of $40 to contribute to the school’s efforts. The boys raised $11,000 through these individual initiatives, such as trading in lost golf balls for donations, selling hot chocolate and handmade crafts, canvassing door-to-door, organizing a bottle drive, and running a concession at Love, Blood and Rhetoric, as well as a significant contribution from Grade 6 student Aidan Cole and a $200 donation made by the student-run Spark Dry-Cleaning Service from profits made from their blazer cleaning business. A staff bingo night on April 22 raised an additional $820 and bake sales hosted by the Senior and Junior schools raised $610 and more than $1,300 respectively.
As part of the annual Clean Out Your Closet charity drive, each class in the Junior School partnered with Senior School advisor groups to collect household items to outfit a three-bedroom apartment for a mother and her six sons, sponsored by the Office for Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Together, the classes collected donations for the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, as well as large furniture items. These donations were presented (along with the funds raised for the River of Hope group) at a special Evensong on Thursday, April 28, where Reverend Parker spoke of the need to treat others with the same compassion and generosity we would hope for ourselves in times of need.
Through the Foundation Year social entrepreneurship program, a group of Grade 9 students also coordinated a partnership with the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre to bring youth aged 5-17 to RSGC each Thursday this month, to make friends and have fun while engaging in healthy physical activities, such as basketball, badminton, and judo. In addition, RSGC students continued to participate in our ongoing partnership with Lord Dufferin through Right to Play.
Thank you to our community members who donated their time, money and household items to support these initiatives!
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Royal St. George's College is an independent school for boys located in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school admits boys from Grades 3 through 12. Our mission is to challenge and inspire each of our students to become the best version of himself.