Yorkies Fill Backpacks for Homeless Youth

Senior girls filled 95 backpacks for Project Backpack
Senior girls filled 95 backpacks for Project Backpack

Senior students participated in the 6th Annual Project Backpack campaign. This year, Yorkies gathered enough essential supplies to fill 95 backpacks.

Project Backpack provides homeless youth of Vancouver with backpacks containing essential items for survival on the street.  The backpacks are filled with items to aid these marginalized youth during this desperate time in their lives. Project Backpack purchases, organizes and distributes the backpacks. Our students filled the sacks with donated items.

With the help of 6 Vancouver schools, the campaign will fill and donate 1000 backpacks this year.

Starts With One: Free the Children Action Group

Volunteers at Richmond Centre
Volunteers at Richmond Centre

Starts With One is a Free the Children Youth Action Group founded by seven York House School classmates; Jan L., Bridget C., Marissa M., Isabelle C., Marysa H., Briana L. and Emily H.

Free the Children is a worldwide organization focused on providing sustainable support for developing countries around the world. After attending We Day 2011, an event hosted at Rogers Arena to inspire change in the minds of youth, we were incredibly inspired. We were touched by the reality of the horrifying statistics, such as, there are over 200 million child soldiers in the world, and 150 million children drop out of primary school before they have completed five years of education – the minimum required for achieving basic literacy.

Plush toys for purchase, donated by ToyBox
Plush toys for purchase, donated by ToyBox

Starts With One was driven to make change. Since October, we have had many fundraising activities, have raised over $2500 dollars in three months. Fundraising goals include raising $5000 to purchase cattle and sewing machines, funding $2500 for an all-girls secondary school, and donating $2500 to an organization run by the mothers, all in the Kenyan village of Enelerai.

Our most recent fundraiser took place over the long weekend preceding Valentine’s Day, at Richmond Center, Arbutus Mall, and Oakridge Mall. Chocolate and plush sales raised nearly $1000. Special thanks to all the volunteers that helped us with this event: Christina X., Emily M., Jocelyn C., Monique C., and Dorothy Z.

Our Logo: Starts With One
Our Logo: Starts With One

Sometimes our group becomes overwhelmed with the seemingly helpless situation of our world. But change is possible and we are ecstatic to be part of it! Thank you for your generous support of Starts With One; together, we can be the change the world needs to see.

Jan L., Grade 7
Co-Founder of Starts With One