Pennies aid developing countries’ children

As posted by the Welland Tribune, March 25, 2013

By Victoria Gray, The Tribune

Fitch Street Public School's junior and senior
kindergarten students including Aaron Roubitaille,
left, Sage Desroucher and Danika LaBonte deliver
almost $500 in pennies to CIBC to help other
children. (VICTORIA GRAY Tribune Staff)

WELLAND - A penny saved is a penny Jeannette Andrea MacGregor’s kindergarten class knows can help a child live a better life.

MacGregor’s 21 junior and senior kindergarten students, some dressed as Brinks guards, walked from Fitch Street Public School pushing and pulling a wagon with all their might across the Fitch Street Plaza parking lot on Monday morning to deliver $475 in pennies to CIBC.

“With pennies going out of style it seemed like it was time to bring them in,” MacGregor said.

For just more than five years, she and her students have collected the coins from parents, students and businesses for Sleeping Children Around the World.

The charity gives children in developing countries a bed kit that includes a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, clothes and school supplies.

Fitch Street Public School’s donation will help purchase 13 bed kits.

“It’s important to teach (students) that this money can buy something for someone else because when you’re young like them it sticks,” MacGregor said.

She said collecting, counting and rolling the money helps the kindergartners with math skills. She also teaches them about what it’s like to live in different countries.

“I think it’s good for them to know Canada is a wealthy country and they are lucky,” she said. “Some people aren’t, and they seem to understand that.”

Melissa Kuczera, the assistant branch manager at CIBC, said having children into the bank teaches them it’s a friendly place with real people.

“It’s never too early to start learning about money,” she said.

Moksha Yoga West Island of Pointe-Claire QC

Submitted by SCAW Volunteer Nicole Jones, March 14, 2013.

We spoke a month or so ago in regards to our yoga studio doing charity classes to support SCAW. Well I'm excited to tell you that over past two months our charity classes raised 1474$. I will be sending the cheque in the mail shortly but I was wondering if you could let me know who/where to send it?

I'm going to email a few pictures from one of our special classes that took place on Feb 24. Monica Healey and Myself team taught for this wonderful cause!

Have a beautiful day.

Nicole Jones

Click images to see a larger version.

Santa's gifts keep on giving: Donation helping kids

As posted by Mississauga.com, March 6, 2013.

By Chris Clay

Visits to Santa at Sherway Gardens over the holidays helped raise more than $40,000 for a charity that works to help children around the world.

Officials from Sherway Gardens were ecstatic after its award-winning Santa Experience, which comes to the shopping centre at Christmas, raised $40,726 that was donated recently to Sleeping Children Around the World. It's an organization that provides bedkits for needy children in developing countries.

"It's great to think that a happy time such as Christmas, where our children our celebrating and having their pictures taken with Santa, can lead to many kids overseas getting bedkits," said Sleeping Children chairman Dave Dryden. "As a result of Sherway Gardens' support, Sleeping Children Around The World has been able to provide approximately 6,000 bedkits to children in countries around the world including India, Kenya, the Philippines, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Honduras and Bangladesh."

The Santa Experience is an interactive play session that includes sing-alongs, dancing and stories and a chance for children to speak with Santa Claus and pose for a picture.

"Since 2002, Sherway Gardens has proudly donated 100 per cent of the proceeds from the Santa Experience to Sleeping Children Around the World," said general manager Andy Traynor. "To date, $245,551.88 has been raised through ticket sales for the Santa Experience which has gone toward helping over 5,000 children worldwide."

For more on Sleeping Children Around the World, visit scaw.org.

Chris Clay

Sherway shoppers support children’s charity with $40K donation

As posted on the Etobicoke Guardian website, March 4, 2013.

by Cynthia Reason

It was Christmas in February for Sleeping Children Around the World this week, as Sherway Gardens presented the Etobicoke-based charity with a cheque for $40,726.88 – the proceeds of the shopping centre’s award-winning Santa Experience.

Dave Dryden, chairman of Sleeping Children Around the World, said those funds will translate into 1,164 bedkits (consisting of a mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net, clothing, towel and school supplies) to be distributed to children from countries all around the world – from India, Kenya, and the Philippines, to Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Honduras and Bangladesh.

“What I love is the fact that it’s because of kids and Santa Claus that that many kids in other countries get a gift – so it’s just like Christmas for them, too,” he said at Thursday’s cheque presentation, noting the organization distributes bedkits to more than 70,000 kids each year.

“I’ve been on probably 20 distributions and it’s always a humbling experience. What I get out of it more than anything else is a sense of respect for the children and their parents and caregivers, because of what they are living through – and the fact that they are still living through it in a positive way.”

Since 2002, 100 per cent of proceeds from the wildly popular Santa Experience at Sherway Gardens have been donated to Sleeping Children for a grand total of nearly $290,000. Those funds have gone towards bedkits for nearly 6,000 children worldwide over the years.

“What I love about it is that we’ll get pictures soon of the children who have received the bedkits, so it becomes personal. We get to see the looks on these children’s faces when they receive them,” said Lisa Resnic, Sherway’s senior marketing director. “For that, we thank our customers, because they’re the ones raising the money. They’re very loyal to the Santa Experience.”

Twelve years ago, at the behest of their then-resident Santa, Sherway Gardens evolved past the traditional photo-with-Santa and developed an interactive, half-hour Santa Experience whereby kids get to participate in sing-a-longs, dancing and story time alongside Santa, plus get the opportunity to share their Christmas wishes and pose for informal pictures with the big guy.

And the results have proven positive: “I heard this year that for some families, it’s now part of the Christmas tradition in their home to come and visit Santa at Sherway because it’s so theatrical,” Resnik added, noting that what she likes best about the program’s partnership with Sleeping Children is its ‘children helping children’ focus.
Sleeping Children Around the World provides bedkits to children of any race and/or religion who will benefit most – typically those located in underdeveloped and developing countries. No portion of any bedkit donation is spent on administration, as 100 per cent of all monies donated reach needy children.

For more information about Sleeping Children Around the World, or to donate, go to www.scaw.org

Margaret Crossling represents SCAW

Submitted by SCAW Volunteer Michael Crossling.

Margaret Crossling presented SCAW to up to 200 students at Holy Name of Mary College School in Mississauga today.

The students were attending their Justice Day exhibition of various charities, one of which, by invitation, was Sleeping Children. All girls were most interested to hear about the work of Sleeping Children.

Click photo to see a larger version.