Nobody is turning into somebody at Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School, thanks to the hard work of students in seven classrooms at the school.
The “Who is Nobody?” project began in November and students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 have been completing good works in order to add something to to the plain denim “Nobody” doll to turn it into “Somebody.”
Hailey Woods holds up her classroom’s “Nobody” doll which now has a mitten on its hand, thanks to her project
Hailey Woods, Grade 5, collected new and gently-used mitts, hats, scarves and socks to take to the Scott Mission in downtown Toronto. Through the generosity of family, neighbours and friends, she had four garbage bags full of items, including 175 pairs of mitts, 115 hats, 47 scarves, 49 pairs of socks, two pairs of shoes and 15 new men’s coats.
She and her mom, Sharon, and their friend, Kim Wilkinson, travelled to the Scott Mission Feb. 18 to deliver the goods and took a tour of the facility.
“They showed us where the less-fortunate people come in to eat and get some clothes,” said Hailey. “They have a food bank there too. It was pretty cool. There are families and individuals. Some come in to warm up and then go back out on the street again.”
She said there is a section where the men sleep, and a separate area for the women and children. “They have church there and they get help to find a job.”
After meeting with the staff, they had lunch at the mission, toured the kitchen and saw the daycare.
Hailey said she has been to Toronto several times and had seen the less fortunate walking along the streets. “I thought it was so sad to see them without a house or a bed. It made me think this would make a good “Who is Nobody?” project.”
In fact, on the way to the mission, Hailey saw a man walking on the street in the cold and offered him a scarf to keep warm. He was also seeking change so she gave him a toonie, “and he said ‘Thank you’.”
As a token of her project, she put a mitt on the “Nobody” doll.
Trent Pletch (L) and Aaron Reid pose with Aaron’s milk-bag sleeping mat project; both boys did “Who is Nobody?” projects in support of Haiti
Meanwhile, Trent Pletch and Aaron Reid, Grade 2, completed projects in support of Haiti.
Last month, Trent sold cupcakes to his neighbours and his hockey team and raised $199 for the people of Haiti who are suffering after an earthquake destroyed their homes Jan. 12.
Aaron is collecting used milk bags and his mother is crocheting them into mats that can be used by the people in Haiti. So far, he has gathered up 630 milk bags, but his goal is to collect 1,000.
The “Who is Nobody?” program is centred on helping another living thing, be it people, animals, or the earth, and the project has to be a reflection of each student’s own personal interests and activities.
Besides the individual projects, each classroom is also doing good works as a group, such as collecting used eyeglasses, and reading books.
For more information about the “Who is Nobody?” program, check out the website, www.whoisnobody.com
This article was published in the The Saugeen Times Newspaper on February 21st 2010
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