It wasn’t holiday anticipation that made the children of Renaissance College and Kennedy School come to school wearing flip flops on the last day of school. The children at these two ESF schools had giving on their mind.
Knowing they would be growing out of their shoes over the summer, they wore flip flops to school, and dropped their gently used school shoes into boxes, which were then sent to the Philippines, where they will be distributed to ICM Jumpstart Kindergarten and Elementary Scholars.
In the Philippines, a child cannot attend school unless they have shoes. The majority of children attending ICM Jumpstart Kindergartens come from families that only eat one meal a day. Shoes are a luxury. Yet every year a child attends school reduces their chance of living in poverty. Education is hope. By providing children shoes, Renaissance and Kennedy children are helping them stay in school.
Renaissance school collected 486 pairs of school, an unbelievable record for their first time donating. Kennedy school beat last year’s record and collected 1053 pairs of shoes. The school’s ESD coordinator, Lesley Davies, who masterminded the effort, took pictures of the effort. As Jacqui Harmer, Primary Vice Principal at Renaissance College said, “It’s too easy and important NOT to do!”
Thank you Renaissance and Kennedy Schools – the students of ICM’s Kindergartens and Elementary Scholarship programs are grateful for your thoughtfulness!
