Young Holy Cross parishioner Annette Yu was worried children at an elementary school near her home would miss out on spring break and summer camps this year.
So to bring the kids at Lord Strathcona Elementary in Vancouver some cheer she started asking family, friends, and fellow students at St. Thomas More Collegiate for donated toys or funds to buy some. In all, she collected 100 toys and about $1,000.
Yu used the funds to purchase more things to play with, and ended up delivering 447 toys and games to the school.
“I did this because many kids in that area are in a poor neighbourhood,” she said.
“Along with COVID, they would not be able to do all the camps which they would normally do during summer and spring break.”
It’s not the first time Yu has found ways to reach out during the pandemic.
Late last year, she and 10 classmates created more than 140 Christmas ornaments and small gifts of socks, lotion, activity books, puzzles, and stuffed toys for all 128 residents of the seniors’ home her grandmother lives in.
She told The B.C. Catholic she hopes to run another toy drive just before the summer again next year.