#Schools4FortMac: NB students raise money for Fort McMurray wildfire victims

Schools across the country are stepping up to help Fort McMurray wildfire victims, and are using the Twitter hashtag #Schools4FortMac to keep track and get the word out.

The Anglophone East School district in New Brunswick has launched a district-wide fundraising campaign called “iHeart Fort Mac” in hopes of offering help to those affected.

READ MORE: ‘We’re going to stay strong’: Calgary schools rally to help Fort McMurray students

“Our school district has a long history of responding to large, tragic events by coming together in a fundraising effort to reach out across the world, supporting the Red Cross in its efforts to provide shelter and basic necessities to families displaced from their homes,” said school board superintendent Gregg Ingersoll.

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“There are a lot of people from out here who have gone out there to work and have homes out there and have made lives out there and we just thought, ‘they would do it for us,'” said Alice Land, a student at Caledonia Regional High School in Hillsborough.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There are a lot of people from out here who have gone out there to work and have homes out there and have made lives out there and we just thought, 'they would do it for us,'" said Alice Land, a student at Caledonia Regional High School in Hillsborough.

Three-hundred-fifty Caledonia High students held a walk in mid-May, raising $750 which will be added to the iHeart Fort Mac fund.

CRHS student Marisa Steeves says her step-brother, who lives and works in Fort McMurray, is one of many back home in New Brunswick trying to figure out their next move.

“I can’t imagine having something like that here — I can’t imagine having friends that are homeless all of a sudden, it’s hard to wrap my head around it,” Steeves said, adding that every little bit helps.

READ MORE: Fort McMurray school inspections start as crews check air quality, structural integrity

Neil Boyce, a teacher at CRHS, says the disaster has been a learning experience for his students — an education in the power of giving that is extending right across the country.

“It’s great. I am very proud of them, it’s a great feeling to help someone else,” Boyce said.

Donations through the Anglophone East school District can be made until Friday, May 27th through the school cash online website or by cash through a child’s school. All funds raised are being matched by the Federal government.