Shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts for a long list of complete strangers was fun enough.
But Paola Diaz says she is even more excited about seeing the smiles when she and her classmates deliver the presents in the next few days.
“It all feels so good,” said the 17-year-old as she and others in Bradon Burnham’s Grade 12 Leadership class piled toys and clothes into their shopping carts on Tuesday.
“What I really want to see are the faces of the kids when we bring them all of this,” said Paola.
She is an exchange student at Great Lakes Secondary School and one of about 28 in Mr. Burnham’s class delivering the Act of Kindness Initiative this season.
The students spent weeks designing shirts that say “You Matter” in six different languages, then selling them to raise money for their project. Paola sold 60 shirts herself, many of them to her friends back home in Spain.
Revenue from shirt sales, combined with numerous sponsors and donors, raised an astonishing $80,000 for the Act of Kindness this year, said Burnham.
“It just went crazy,” he said. “Even Chris Hadfield supported us by posting on Instagram and businesses were very generous when we approached them.”
Burnham teaches Healthy Active Living Leadership, a Grade 12 credit, and came up with the idea with his 2022 class to share kindness, let people know they matter, and surprise them with gifts.
Last year’s Act of Kindness raised $36,000 and spread a lot of happiness. But this year’s effort is off the charts.
The students spread out across Lambton Mall with budgets of $300, $400, even $1,200 each to spend on an individual or family in Sarnia. Their carts were piled high by the time they returned to get their photo taken with Santa.
“”We’ve been shopping for a six-year-old who loves makeup,” said Grace Cressman. “And we have an eight-year-old autistic boy on our list.
“Really, this is an investment in the community and an investment in positivity.”
Burnham said about 100 people, including eight or nine families, will receive gifts this year. He assembled the list of recipients by contacting the Inn of the Good Shepherd, the Haven, the Children’s Aid Society and administrators at GLSS.
“There is so much need in Sarnia-Lambton,” he said. “The easy part of all of this is finding families and individuals who need help.”
The initiative is focused on Christmas right now, but it runs year-round, Burnham added.
At other times of the year, his students help pay expenses for people who can’t make their rent, when a family car breaks down, or when a grocery bill is too much.
They also help with Grade 9 Fun Day at their school, serve meals at The Inn of the Good Shepherd and contribute to the Chain of Caring and Orange Shirt Day.
It’s an opportunity for the students to take leadership and it’s also a chance for them to see real kindness in their own community.
Just ask Owen Roberts, one of Burnham’s students who was shopping on Tuesday.
“We were standing in a lineup at Toys R Us and a lady found out what we were doing and gave us $100,” Owen said. “It’s really amazing.”