Over the month of December, St. James Catholic High School students have been diligently writing letters to seniors isolated in retirement homes and hospitals.
Greetings from My Heart campaign began in March to help bring community support to seniors isolated in hospitals and nursing homes. Since then, the campaign has garnered a great response from the community – contributing 1500 letters to individuals in the community.
Yoskan Haile, grade 12 at St. James Catholic High School and student leader of St. James CHS Social Justice Club was intrigued by the campaign and wanted to show support for the community.
“This campaign was a great opportunity for our school to contribute to the community and send out positive messages to people who are currently in isolation,” said Haile. “Our main goal was to spread joy and hope during the holidays.”
The St. James CHS Social Justice Club announced the campaign by putting up posters and making announcements to invite the school to participate. They established a partnership with the Arts Council, who created templates of Christmas Cards.
“It is wonderful to see the participation of staff and students as well as the collaboration among the councils in our school and across our board,” said Denise Burns, a teacher advisor for the Social Justice Club at St. James CHS. “We invited teachers to request class sets of cards for classes. These sat in envelopes for 72 hours before the teachers picked them up and distributed them to their students who then created many beautiful, insightful, and touching cards.”
By creating cards sending love, support, and encouragement to those in hospitals, senior homes and the community, the local campaign helped empower the school community to look beyond their struggles and reach out to others who need comfort.
“This campaign allowed us to spread positivity and hope in these challenging times. I want everyone receiving our letters to know that our community will continue to support and pray for them,” shared Haile. “Most seniors are in isolation and are unable to see their family. In my letters, I will share my personal story and how I have managed to overcome adversity by holding on to hope and reminding them to not lose hope. Even if it looks like we are surrounded by darkness, if we look hard enough, we can see the light that surrounds the darkness. Our community is a huge family and we always support and care for each other, which is why we are taking part in this campaign. Holding on to hope will keep us going and help us to keep fighting.”
All in all, the St. James CHS community will contribute over 150 letters to be delivered over the Christmas break.
“Knowing that so many students want to help spread positivity and to contribute to the community makes me so happy. Now more than ever, our community needs hope, and this campaign has helped us spread love and hope to the people who need comfort,” said Haile. “This campaign has taught me that when it comes to spreading positivity, even the smallest things matter. People are not looking for a huge gift, but something small to remind them to stay hopeful.”
For more information on future St. James CSHS Social Justice Club events follow them on Twitter or visit the school’s website for updates.