December 10th, 2019
At Empire Public School, students and staff are demonstrating they care for people in our community this winter season by collecting socks for ToastyToes Waterloo Region.
The students, staff and families at Empire are proud to be part of this worthwhile cause, and have participated in this initiative for the past three years. This year the school collected 1,509 pairs of socks for ToastyToes. Students in Mrs. Chapman and Mrs. Crawford’s classes collected socks every week from each classroom throughout the school.
“Way to go Eagles! You are extraordinary stewards of our school and our community,” said Krista Mohr Beamish, principal at Empire PS. “Thank you to our Child and Youth Worker Jillian Gilmour for supporting our students and facilitating the collection of thousands of pairs of socks over the last three years.”
ToastyToes was started in 2013 by Sharon Gilroy-Dreher. She began collecting socks from friends and family in honour of her mother who always gave socks as gifts. When Sharon’s mother passed away, she wanted to keep the tradition going in her memory. The campaign spread region-wide, with groups all over Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge collecting socks. Last year 39,500 socks were collected and since the campaign started 85,000 pairs of socks have been collected for people in our community experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
A Time of Giving in the WRDSB
As we count down to the winter break, we are highlighting just a few of the generous acts of kindness our staff and students are modelling. From students collecting socks for the less fortunate, to kindergarteners serenading seniors, these are just a few of the amazing things happening across our board at this time of year.
You can check out all of the great acts of giving in our schools (they happen all year round!) by following us on social media and using the hashtag #WRDSBgives.