Students at Lakeview Christian School in Saanich and a North Saanich church have given Saanich Peninsula Lions Food Bank reason to feel bullish about 2021, the Year of the Ox, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Drawing on the Chinese New Year tradition of gifting bright red envelopes stuffed with money, the school’s student body raised $1,213 dollars in cash over the course of several weeks.
“Everybody helped in some way,” said Scott Bastien, the school’s principal.
North Saanich’s Rest Haven Seventh-day Adventist Church (a supporter of the food bank) then matched the school’s donation.
Gabrielle Featherby, educational assistant, said the fundraising campaign started in January, with the school holding a raffle event on Friday, Feb. 12, Chinese New Year.
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“We were talking about how important it is to support your community,” she said, when asked about the messaging to students. “We also talked about how important it is to care for the (less well-off) and love each other as God loves us.”
Bastien said the school has supported the food bank in the past, collecting goods in recycle bin sized containers for the food bank last Christmas.
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