Back-to-school is fast approaching, and many parents have already started the process of taking their kids shopping for new supplies. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford new pencils, scribblers, and erasers.
Bell Aliant began an initiative in 2003 to help ensure less fortunate children have a knapsack filled with what they need to have a successful school year.
Employees, retirees, and students with summer jobs at Bell Aliant, all work together on the Backpack For Kids program. One student in particular, Hanna Nathanson, has been a leader in organizing fundraising.
“They've been washing cars, they've been baking cookies, they've been having ice cream socials, they've been having bingos, anything they can do to raise money to purchase more supplies to fill more backpacks,” says Dawn Boylan, Bell Aliant manager.
The goal is to put together 10,000 backpacks for the start of the school year.
The group has already stuffed 897 backpacks and they're not done yet.
All of the students have worked hard, but they say Hanna has gone the extra mile.
“Hanna's definitely just kind of been the ringleader of the fundraising this summer, and last summer as well, she's definitely gone above and beyond what anyone could expect of her,” says summer student Erica McLean.
Hanna is about to begin her second year in the education program at StFX University and says training to be a teacher has made the project even more special for her.
“Seeing, in my practicum, the struggles that some families have, it really drives me to help the community even more,” says Hanna.
Filling a backpack only costs $27 and provides a child with all of the supplies they need to begin the year.
Congratulations to Hanna Nathanson, our Maritimer of the Week!
If you know someone deserving of our Maritimer of the Week award, we want to hear about it.
It doesn’t matter how old they are, the nature of the good deed they’ve done, or what part of the region they live in — we want your ideas!
Please send your nomination to:
maritimer@ctv.ca
or
Maritimer of the Week
P.O. Box 1653
Halifax, N.S.
B3J 2Z4
