Students in the Maple Ridge secondary Wellness program spent two hours Wednesday morning ringing bells for the Salvation Army’s kettle campaign.
Three students manned a kettle at the Save-On-Foods 203 Street and Lougheed Highway location, while another three stood outside of ValleyFair Mall entrance to London Drugs.
Christine Hilliard, support education teacher at MRSS, explained doing benevolent volunteerism and making community connections is part of the agenda for the Wellness program at the school – a program that focuses on a person’s overall mental health and well being.
The six students in the course have been working on mental health awareness and stigma, mindfulness and how they have been treating themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new year they will be focusing on physical wellness and working with equine therapy.
“Our goal is really just to give our students some strategies and tools to live their best life,” said Hilliard.
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The program is in its first year and was started by Hilliard, Aboriginal Education, and a supportive administrative group, noted Hilliard.
Hilliard spends one full day a month with the students plus every Wednesday morning.
Program started because, she said, there are a population of students that have mental health concerns and needs and overall wellness goals that are not easily done in a typical high school curriculum.
On Wednesday morning, Dec. 15, the students learned about the Salvation Army and what the organization does for the community, before heading to the two locations to raise money for Salvation Army programs.
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