Once again, Island Pacific School slept outside in support of Covenant House Vancouver. Seventeen grade nine students slept out and raised an outstanding $18,915 for youth experiencing homelessness, the most any school has ever raised!
The students spent the evening learning about youth homelessness, how Covenant House Vancouver helps and hearing stories of youth’s personal experiences. Not only did these students work hard to fundraise and learn but they even baked muffins and cookies for our Outreach Team.
The morning after sleeping out student’s shared their reflections:
- “It could be someone I know that could end up going through this in real life. So to take just one night and really put myself in someone else’s shoes was surreal and really valuable. “
- “I don’t think that sleeping out put me anywhere close to a place where I could understand and relate to what homeless youth go thru every day and night. This really made me think about how privileged I am on a whole different level.”
- “I feel like this has made me more compassionate and open to talking about people’s issues with mental health, substance abuse, and emotional and physical abuse. I want to learn more about the jobs at Covenant House because I see myself volunteering there in the future.”
- “These initiatives and organizations like Covenant House give me hope and help ME be part of the solution.”
Thank you so much for 7 years of incredible support Island Pacific School, your school and students are truly having a positive impact on young lives!