Students sew blankets for homeless youth
A group of Alma Public School Grade 6 students had a chance to develop sewing skills while helping homeless youth.
This project began with 10 Grade 6 students who had participated in a #ONedSs chat through Twitter.
The chat, involving Grade 3 to 7 students from across Ontario, focused on human and children’s rights.
Following the chat, the Grade 6 students at Alma PS decided they wanted to do something to make a difference in the community.
The Alma students decided to initiate a project aimed at helping homeless youth keep warm.
They collected T-shirts as part of a school-wide drive. After collecting hundreds of shirts they got together to make them into blankets for distribution through Wyndham House in Guelph.
With help from media/librarian teacher Sherri Woodland and some internet research, the students taught themselves how to make a template for a quilt and how to use a sewing machine, said Alma PS teacher Jake Ladner.
He described the youths involved as a “hard working independent group of self motivated students.”
