Gravenhurst High School (GHS) students have raised nearly $8,000 for the Canadian Red Cross’ Ukrainian crisis appeal fund.
Aimée Bulloch, a teacher at GHS, says there are some pins still available at Lilibird in Bracebridge, Arts at the Albion in Gravenhurst, and Huntsville’s Canvas Brewery and Family Place Restaurant. She estimates another “few hundred” dollars will be brought in through selling the leftover pins.
“I wanted to gather money so we could support Ukraine as quickly as possible,” she says.
She adds another cheque will be sent to the Canadian Red Cross once all the pins are sold.
The pins of the Ukrainian flag and the sunflower, which is the country’s national flower, were being sold for $10 apiece at the aforementioned locations for the past few weeks. Bulloch’s students, and other volunteers, were making the pins at GHS.
One of Bulloch’s helpers is grade 10 student Emily Lewis. “It was really nice to know that we were doing something about everything that’s happening in Ukraine,” she says, adding they’ve also been learning about what’s happening between Russia and Ukraine.
“I was following [the news], but I think I started following more when we were getting involved in making the flags,” Lewis explains.
Likewise, grade 12 student Cassidy Mcisaac was keeping an eye on what was happening overseas but wasn’t totally up-to-date on the war until she started making the pins. “It felt really nice being from a small town, a small high school, and helping out and being part of the bigger picture,” she says.
Since starting the project Mcisaac and Lewis say they have been keeping a closer eye on what’s happening. “At the beginning of some of our classes our teachers would discuss it, and we would have class discussions on how we think everything is playing out,” Mcisaac says.
“It felt good knowing that we’re raising money, even a little bit, to go towards what’s happening,” Lewis adds.