Kids will give up the darnedest things on Friday to raise money to support student nutrition programs. Live Free Day is an annual event sponsored by the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.
The foundation runs the the Live Free Campaign on an ongoing basis.
Kristen Drexler, event manager for the foundation, said the event raised $50,000 last year. This year the organization is working with schools to raise even more.
The funds are used to support the 105 Food and Friends nutrition programs in schools and neighbourhood groups, programs that help local children live free of hunger. Funds raised by schools and groups that have those programs stay in those schools.
“The kids have little pledge cards that they write something they are going to live free from for the day,” Drexler said. “Sometimes it’s cute things like my Barbie, and other times it’s things like judgment or my bed. It varies. Every dollar raised in the schools stays in the schools.”
She said the campaign helps schools bridge the gap between the funding they get from Children’s Foundation and what they need to get through to the end of the school year.
The campaign encourages students to live without something for the day, sacrificing a prized possession, a favourite food, or an electronic device they are attached to. By doing so they extend a hand to those who live without proper nutrition.
“Some schools really do embrace it,” said Heather Loney, communications and community engagement officer with Upper Grand District School Board. A number of Upper Grand schools are taking part in Live Free Day.
“Some schools have a higher need for nutrition programs,” Loney said, adding that it can cost quite a lot of money, up to $15,000 each year in some cases, to run the programs. That is especially so for schools with higher student populations.
She indicated that it is not easy to give something up for an entire day, especially an electronic device like a cellphone that young people are quite attached to.
“I don’t know if I could actually go without my cellphone,” she said. “It’s tough. You want to pick something that you would actually miss, to try to make the point that you are trying to support people who go without these things everyday.”
Programs through Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph are supported by participating students who donate a toonie or more to the campaign. Students are also supported in their efforts by parents and others. Friends and family are invited to sponsor students’ efforts. A number of Upper Grand schools are participating.
“What we try to do is raise additional funds so that we can help those schools that are really in need,” Drexler said, speaking of the broader Live Free Campaign. “There are schools that have a hard time rubbing two dimes together. So how are they expected to raise additional funds to help feed their hungry children. So we try to raise some additional funds to help out those schools that are really needing it.”
