More than 20 Grade 3 students and parent volunteers spent an hour as volunteers wrapping presents at CrossIron Mills in support of Make-A-Wish Foundation Dec. 20.
“It’s teaching them to help other people and give to others,” said Prairie Waters Elementary School Grade 3 Teacher Janet Chapman.
The field trip was part of their Social Studies course on quality of life and how non-profits and other organizations help people with lower qualities of life.
The opportunity for the field trip came after the students were invited to come and volunteer by the Make-A-Wish guest speaker in November.
“I asked my kids and they wanted to come and help out for other people,” said Chapman.
“They have been excited about this for a month,” she said.
The Grade 3s have had several guest speakers in from different organizations as part of the Awakening Passions program that Chapman is teaching this year.
“I am bringing in a whole gamut of different organizations every Friday,” she said.
Chapman hopes that her students will learn, both from the whole year’s lessons and from their volunteerism, with Make-A-Wish that it is important to help others.
“I’m hoping that they take away the idea that it is important to help your fellow human beings,” she said, “regardless of what their situation is and where they come from.”
She also wants her students to realize that one day they could be the ones that need these kinds of supports.
Chapman said that another important lesson she hopes the students take away from this is that they don’t have to be directly fundraising to help an organization.
Make-A-Wish Marketing and Communications Coordinator Carly McConachie said that volunteers like the Prairie Waters students make a huge difference to the foundation.
“Make-A-Wish relies heavily on our volunteers to do events like this,” she said.
“To have the students come out at such a young age is such a wonderful way to introduce them to Make-A-Wish as an organization and to the concept of volunteering,” said McConachie.
She said that she and the other Make-A-Wish volunteers were really thankful that the students came.
