The halls at John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute were full of the hustle and a bustle of the holiday season, and all in the spirit of giving.
Each year, staff and students give back to the community with its annual FROSTY (Friendly Royals Offering Stuff To Yuletide) event.
Spirits were high for the two-week-long initiative that offers entertaining activities for each class, from decorating to dodgeball, with the goal of raising funds and collecting food hampers for local charities.
This year’s goal was to raise $6,000 for Hope House and provide 400 hampers of food for the Guelph Food Bank.
Chantale Zongor, John F. Ross alumni, said the school will likely reach it’s goal this year.
“All classes bring down their donations. We have one class that is bringing over 60 food hampers. We will aim to fill an entire truck,” Zongor said.
“That is our goal.”
On Friday, students and staff loaded all the collected food hampers onto a truck donated by Mike the Mover.
“I think our students are so focused on how can we help, especially this time of year, when people are in need. The students and teachers always step up and do such a great job,” said school principal Chad Warren.
“I recently ran into a parent and they remember FROSTY when they were here, in high school. John F. Ross is all about community, looking out for each other, and always looking out for people in the community.”
The FROSTY event began at the high school in 1985.
“It started off small with just food donations, and now it’s grown, and we’ve turned it into this,” Zongor said.
This event was spearheaded by Zongor, teachers Ed Hicken and Alice Muller, and the school’s Leadership class including a group of six students,
Sharon He, Keira So, Duncan Stradeski, Jorja Sloan, Keerti Plaha, and Soffia Noori.
Grade 12 student Sharon He said she always wanted to help organize in the FROSTY event.
“What made me want to do this was seeing students take part in previous years and to see how much of a difference FROSTY has made. I saw the difference and I really wanted to be part of it,” He said.
“I really enjoyed helping to run it. We were able to meet with the charities that we are donating to. The process was just so much fun, from planning it, and getting the whole community involved.”
Duncan Stradeski, in Grade 11, said he is excited to see his fellow students step up to help others during the holiday season.
“An event like this is really important to me because I am a big believer in charity,” he said.
“I think everyone has a call to help other people. Its something everyone should do for our society to work.”
FROSTY festivities at the school lasted two weeks, ending just before winter break on Dec. 22. All hampers will make their way to families in time for the holidays.
“Every year, people would come to my class to collect donations. I always thought how much fun it must be to help run, and I always wanted to be a part of it," said Grade 11 student Keerti Plaha.
“And now I know what FROSTY all about. It’s a lot of work but it’s been so much fun. And it just feels good to give.”