Santa is getting a little help from students at Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute this Christmas.
The students donated 50 handmade doll cribs and another 50 handmade wooden toys to the Christmas Cheer campaign Monday, along with 35 refurbished bicycles and more than 1,300 donated food items. Staff contributed by donating about 30 dolls.
The Grade 10 tech design class built the cribs and painted them, each with its own unique design. Student Bronte Willie said it was a project the whole class was behind.
“We were really excited about the idea,” she said, adding she feels like they put a lot back into Christmas by building toys for other people.
“It’s more than just for us…we’re doing it for other people and other children who really need it,” Willie said.
Fellow Grade 10 student Christopher Slawson said the project is important for the students to become involved in the community.
“There’s a lot of people out there that don’t have the things that people who get more money do, so I think it’s important to give those kids something to brighten up their Christmas,” he said.
Habitat for Humanity donated the bicycles to the school and the Grade 10 automotive class repaired and cleaned them up to donate to Christmas Cheer.
Home Hardware donated the materials needed for the cribs and Dynamic Painting donated the paint and primer needed.
Robert Dasey teaches electrical, construction and design classes at Westgate and said the project took about a month to complete, including setup and development. The school has been working with Christmas Cheer for years, but has only included toys in the last two years.
He said the key to the project is connecting the students to the community.
“We want to give the students an opportunity to see what they can do as a group and actually pull it together with the local community,” he said.
