A letter from William Peat, Assistant Head at Hillfield Strathallen College:
Last year, when I was approached by Dr. Matthews about the Rise and Shine Breakfast, and asked whether the Social Action Committee might organize the event (although we have never un-dertaken an event of this magnitude), I saw it as an opportunity for our students to continue this trend. Although the Breakfast took place on March 6, our students, led by our event chair Alison Ower, worked tirelessly.Beginning in September, SAC members held numerous hot chocolate and cotton candy sales, as well as cozy sweater, ice-cream sundae and grub days. All told, the Committee raised well over $2000, meaning that collectively they were able to stand alongside Tim Hortons as a major sponsor of the event. Other students – Tess Urbanowicz (co-chair), Lindsay Hann (secretary), Emmaline Houston (SAC Chair), Tim Wang and Blake Camden (finance), Grace Davidson (PR), Ryan Day (Program), Sarah Robson, Catherine Lachowskyj and Will McMillan all played key roles. They secured mentors and sponsors (no mean feat in economic hard times), designed programs, and worked closely with community, business and political leaders, as well as HSC staff – truly a wonder to behold! The event, this time taking place on a balmy morning in March, was outstanding by any measure. On this occasion, it is City Kidz, and their young patrons who will benefit, but the skills our students learned, and indeed mastered throughout the last nine months, can be applied to any context: running a business,
managing a non-profit organization, a political campaign, or, of course, working on a charity fundraiser. Although in any undertaking of this kind there is a very real chance of failure, the risk,challenge and work involved also mean that when students succeed, the achievement genuinely belongs to them.
William Peat,
Assistant Head,
SAC Faculty Advisor
