Volunteers from Westwood High School in St. Lazare and Lester B. Pearson officials were\u00a0at St. Lawrence Academy in LaSalle today to sort and deliver food and toys to some of the larger families who need help in Verdun and LaSalle.<\/p>\n
The volunteer efforts continue tomorrow as families associated with Verdun Elementary, Westwood\u2019s adopted school, receive their baskets.<\/p>\n
I am just grateful,\u201d said Louise (not her real name), the mom of a seven-year-old at Verdun Elementary, whose family will receive one of the baskets. \u201cI am seriously grateful because even a fraction of last year\u2019s basket will help me get through the next couple of months in staples\u2026Maybe I can even take my son to the dollar cinema.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When Louise and her family first received a basket from the school three years ago, her husband had just lost his job, she was working full-time, and their son was in day care. Once food and rent was paid, they had no cash left. They even had to set aside their dream of testing their son for autism with The Montreal Autism Society because the $600 fee turned out to be beyond their means. (A test in the public system is supposed to be free, but they remain on the waiting list five years after a doctor recommended her son be tested.)<\/p>\n
Since then, Louise has changed jobs and works only on Saturdays and Sundays and her husband works nights during the week. Still, their finances remain limited so this year\u2019s basket will come in handy. There mightn\u2019t have been one at all, if school commissioner Mary Ann Davis hadn\u2019t begun earnestly fund-raising a week and a half ago.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t realize that both Verdun Elementary and Riverview were really short of their objective until two weeks ago,\u201d said Davis. \u201cApparently the work-to-rule campaign had a devastating effect on the usual fundraising effort. It was clear they weren\u2019t going to be able to give out the food and gifts that families rely on. It broke my heart that they didn\u2019t have enough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Since learning of the schools\u2019 plight, Davis has done everything she can think of to attract more cash, including taking students carolling and visiting local businesses of all sizes. A local artists\u2019 collective, Enprientes d\u2019artistes de Verdun, donated $295 they made from last Friday\u2019s jam session at Caf\u00e9 Kali. The Verdun hair salon Medz gave enough mini hairdryers for each adult in the families to get one. IGA Champagne on Bannantyne gave her 200 chocolate calendars. The Pharmaprix on Wellington donated a $25 gift certificate.<\/p>\n
Davis isn\u2019t sure how many baskets the two schools will give out this year, but last year, Verdun Elementary gave baskets to 189 families. The figure is surprisingly-high; the school only has 237 students, and most have multiple sisters and brothers.<\/p>\n
Davis says the school is a ten out of ten on the poverty scale, so helping families who go there makes sense for the community.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m grateful to Mary Ann for starting the project,\u201d said Louise. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to the families in the West Island who participate. I\u2019m grateful that there is no religion pushed on us in the giving too. The blessings we\u2019re received in the last few years have made me stronger to give back to the community.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Volunteers from Westwood High School in St. Lazare and Lester B. Pearson officials were at St. Lawrence Academy in LaSalle today to sort and deliver food and toys to some of the larger families who need help in Verdun and LaSalle. You can still drop off funds at any of the schools until the end of the week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lasalleposts","category-verdunposts","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2buQs-4lt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16061,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/congratulations-school-commissioners\/","url_meta":{"origin":16707,"position":0},"title":"Congratulations School Commissioners","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"November 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Congratulations to Diane Lamarche-Venne and Suanne Stein Day, the new school board presidents. Congratulations also to the new Verdun and LaSalle school commissioners. Lester B. Pearson Reps Mary Ann Davis, Verdun and the Bronx and Frank di Bello, rest of LaSalle. Marguerite Bourgeoys Reps Sarita Benchimol in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Journalism"","block_context":{"text":"Journalism","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/notable-nonfiction\/journalism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/20Marie-Ann-Davis.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15979,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/english-commissioners-verdun-lasalle\/","url_meta":{"origin":16707,"position":1},"title":"English commissioners in Verdun and LaSalle","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Voters in Verdun and LaSalle have to choose between two and four school-board commissioner candidates, depending on where they live. People living in Lester B. Pearson\u2019s ward 1, which includes Nun\u2019s Island and mainland Verdun plus the Bronx in LaSalle, will choose from among Sergio Borja, Jim Bytheway, Mary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Journalism"","block_context":{"text":"Journalism","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/writing\/notable-nonfiction\/journalism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/38FRANK-di-BELLO.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3211,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/lasalle-and-verdun-budget-meetings-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":16707,"position":2},"title":"LaSalle and Verdun Budget Meetings Tonight","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"January 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The boroughs of LaSalle and Verdun will present their budgets and propose service taxes during extraordinary meetings of their councils set for tonight. 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Verdun borough hall remains lit in green to celebrate its Irish connections until the end of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics That Matter"","block_context":{"text":"Politics That Matter","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/cultural-identity\/politics-that-matter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CityHallinGreen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CityHallinGreen-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CityHallinGreen-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CityHallinGreen-600x450.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15897,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/three-year-capital-expenditure\/","url_meta":{"origin":16707,"position":4},"title":"Budget Meetings in LaSalle and Verdun Tonight","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"September 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"LaSalle and Verdun will both pass important budget items during extraordinary meetings held prior to their regular meetings this evening. Public notice about both meetings occurred in mid-August. The borough of LaSalle adopted its three-year capital expenditure program at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night. It's regular borough meeting followed at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2014threeyearcapitalexpenditure","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014threeyearcapitalexpenditure1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17073,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/verdun-cancels-lease-french-food-bank\/","url_meta":{"origin":16707,"position":5},"title":"Verdun cancels lease of French Food Bank","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"April 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Verdun has cancelled the lease of the borough\u2019s French food bank, le R\u00e9seau d\u2019entraide de Verdun (REV). 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