Business education students at Estevan Comprehensive School stepped up, and decided to get down to some business of their own, to help out those whose lives have been affected by the wildfires burning in and around Fort McMurray, Albertans.
Students in Grades 10 to 12 teamed up to hold a barbecue specifically to raise funds for the Red Cross, in support of the displaced people of Fort McMurray on May 11. The Red Cross is one of the many organizations providing aid to the embattled, evacuated population of Fort McMurray.
Many of the evacuees from Fort McMurray lost their homes and livelihoods, on account of a 229,000-hectare wildfire that forced the largest evacuation of a community in Alberta’s history.
“It’s pretty cool that everyone came together to do this. We organized it on our own, and I’m surprised it all came together so quickly and so well,” said Hannah Whitman, one of the students participating in the barbecue. “We started at 8:30 this morning, went to the Co-op to get all the stuff we needed, and worked through the morning. Classes came out at about 10-ish, after we got everything ready.”
The barbecue entailed a large number of students lined up along a row of tables just outside the school, cooking and preparing hotdogs and hamburgers for fellow students, teachers, faculty, guests and everyone who stopped by, wishing to contribute a $5 donation towards the Red Cross and its efforts to aid the displaced people of Fort McMurray.
“It was completely brought up by the kids I teach. It’s an event that’s all about the importance of giving back,” said teacher Josh LeBlanc. “It’s stressed as very important, in our department, that business have a social responsibility to ensure the growth and success of communities in which they operate.”
LeBlanc added that the barbecue was an example of his business students putting that philosophy into play.
LeBlanc said the idea for the barbecue originally came from students in his Accounting 2030 class. The idea quickly caught on among students in the personal finance and information processing classes he teaches, gaining the support of many.
