Some Calgary elementary students spent Thursday making some early Christmas presents and helping other kids overcome hardship to enjoy the holidays.
Grade three students at Olympic Heights School sewed gift bags for 100 refugee children who’ve recently arrived in Calgary.
“They had to leave their county in a hurry,” seven-year-old Emily Stevens said. “So we’re helping them out so they feel welcome.”
The gift bags include booklets the students custom-made for each refugee child, with drawings showing the things they can look forward to during their first winter in Canada.
The bags also include a pair of warm mittens, “so they can stay warm and go and do all those fun winter sports,” eight-year-old Halle Cote said.
Many of the young refugees are from Syria, with others coming from places like Iraq and Ethiopia.
Along with the gift bags, the grade three kids are also sending along their best wishes for the holiday season.
“I wish for them to have joyfulness and happiness,” Emily Stevens said. “To make them have fun in Calgary, cause Calgary’s a peaceful place.”