#ChurchNeverStops: Lenten gifts for the less fortunate

The kids may have given up candy for Lent, but that didn’t mean it would go to waste.

Students at St. Catherine’s Elementary in Langley and St. Pius X in North Vancouver ran a collection for leftover treats from Valentine’s Day and produced several large bins of sweet gifts for people who are homeless or in assisted living.

At St. Catherine’s all students were invited to donate candy, which the kindergarten class then stuffed into 76 gift bags Feb. 26. The bags were passed along to The Door is Open drop-in centre for the homeless and less fortunate in the Downtown Eastside.

At St. Pius X, students collected six large bins of donated Valentine’s Day candy, which they wrapped up and labelled with messages such as “You are not alone, we care about you!”

Those packages (several hundred) were donated to Good Shepherd Street Ministry, whose members delivered to shelters and assisted living residences in downtown Vancouver Feb. 21.

While St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby isn’t collecting candy for the homeless, the school’s Lenten project is also aimed at helping someone they may never meet.

Last year, the students raised money to cover the tuition for a student entering All Hallows High School, their brother school in the Bronx, New York. This Lent, they continued that effort, raising funds to support the same student in his second year at All Hallows High School.

Principal Stephen Garland said the school is committed to continue paying this young man’s tuition until he graduates from Grade 12 in the spring of 2024.

“The Lenten Project that our students are engaged in has the potential to dramatically alter the life of one other human being ... a peer they may likely never know or meet.”