St. Padre Pio CES was honoured to raise funds and awareness for the initiative, Shannen’s Dream as part of the Canada 150 celebration. Shannen’s Dream is an organization founded by Shannen Koostachin, a youth education advocate from the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario.
Shannen’s Dream main focus is creating a safe and caring school environment for First Nations children and youth, which also highlights culturally based education initiatives. Shannen’s Dream has raised awareness that many First Nations schools receive less funding per student than provincial and territorial schools, and no funding for libraries, computers or extracurricular activities.
Last year, the Leadership Committee at St. Padre Pio Catholic School of 2016-2017 comprising of grade 6, 7 and 8 students took action and raised funds for Shannen’s Dream through popcorn sales, candygram exchanges, Canada 150 concert sales, and assisting with our Catholic School Council fundraising events. Early this year the SPP’s Leadership Committee had the opportunity to finally present to the representative of Shannen’s Dream, via Google Hangout, a cheque for $7,000!
Participating in Shannen’s Dream was a positive, inspirational and truly incredible experience that gave witness to the strong sense of Canadian pride that all members of the St. Padre Pio Catholic School community share.
