It is not an ordinary school day for the Grade 8 French immersion class at Summerland Middle School.
Teenagers brought warmth to seniors at the Angus Place residential care facility on this chilly, snowy day.
“Giving back to the community feels so good, right? It makes them feel good and yourself,” said 13-year-old Lily Keys.
It began in 2005 in the Coquitlam school district and snowballed from there.
Summerland teacher Melissa Burdock brought the idea with her after moving to the Okanagan from the Lower Mainland.
“This year when I told my class about it, they were really excited. We have a lot of students that are just full of love and kindness in my room, and they were excited to go around the community and spread that love and kindness today,” she said on Tuesday.
Students handed out hot coffee to grocery store shoppers and headed to Main Street armed with snowbrushes.
“We’re clearing the snow off the cars and putting encouraging sticky notes on the windshields,” said Grade 8 student Samantha Robertson.
The community appreciated the small acts of kindness, but the journey isn’t over.
Ten Summerland students are travelling to Victoria on Wednesday as B.C. officially proclaims this week as RAC week.
The teens hope they will inspire others to pay it forward.
“Kids, adults, anyone to do whatever they can, because the acts that you can do are so simple but they can make a huge impact,” said student Talia Robison.
‘The more people we have doing them, the more our world starts to change for the better,” she said.
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