VP’s December of Giving: Oxfam’s Warmer Winters and Key Club & World Vision’s Clothing Drive

By: Cora Tian

December has arrived and in this wintry month that introduces hardships to some families, two impactful initiatives took center stage by VP’s non-profit clubs. Oxfam orchestrated its third annual food drive Warmer Winters, while Key Club and World Vision brought forth a clothing drive throughout the whole month.

Giving of food by Oxfam’s Warmer Winters

Oxfam’s Warmer Winters spanned two weeks, aiming to collect non-perishable food items for local food banks. With over 50 student volunteers involved, VP’s school community helped carry out this mission, spreading awareness, organizing donations, and assisting with logistical tasks. Oxfam would also like to thank Ms. Grancaric and Ms.Shaw for their generous food donations every Thursday!

Shoutout to the winner and top contributor of Warmer Winters, Mrs.Tregwin’s grade 9 math class with 216 items donated! Fantastic jobs to the runner-ups, Ms. Swanson and Ms. Yeganegi’s classes. The collective effort of giving will be helping families during unwanted hardships.

This year, Oxfam’s food drives continue to exceed expectations with nearly 1,000 donations collected from classrooms. The success of Oxfam’s food drives was the collective efforts of the teacher, the student body, and the club’s driving mission. As Oxfam’s Co-President Lucas Fang quotes, “At its core, Oxfam is all about fighting against inequality - poverty, women’s rights, literacy rates, hunger, you name it. At VP Oxfam, we always strive towards creating a better future, on as global of a scale as possible.”

Oxfam empowers through action and invites you to join and be involved with their rewarding goals. Simply fill out the application with the QR code posted around the school and choose the option of being part of various councils that suit your interests.

Giving of clothes by Key Club and World Vision’s Clothing Drive

The collaborative clothing drive organized by VP’s World Vision and Key Club aimed to collect various clothes from homerooms to donate to local clothing donation boxes. Both clubs, motivated by charitable principles, unified to create tangible and effective change within the community. Key Club’s Co-President Ahsan Ameer explains the origins of the clothing drive: “Whilst fundraisers are great ways to encourage community involvement, asking those who [can] donate clothing for the less fortunate felt more personal, adding a personable touch to the entire process.”

The drive’s impact was significant, with a total of 532 articles of clothing donated and with all VPCI homerooms participating. Amongst the vast participation, Music Class M1 emerged as the winner with 152 total articles of clothing, earning a fantastic pizza party! The efforts of the VP’s homerooms were valued and treasurable, no wonder why Key Club’s Co-President, Mohamed Saidi, was spotted stealing from the piles of collected clothes!

Nevertheless, moving forward, VP World Vision and Key Club are guided by the motto “Progression, not Perfection,” as they continue their commitment to making a positive change to the Parkwoods community through various endeavours and inviting the school to join in.

Giving warmth and kindness

Despite the unique charity approaches of the events, both invited the school community to be a part of community helping. VP’s Oxfam, World Vision, and Key Club opened December with acts of kindness and closed December off by giving out to those in need.