Students have been embracing the holiday spirit by giving back to the community in a variety of ways. What follows are some of the many examples of fundraising and charity drives across the District.
Kitchener Elementary is among the schools with an Angel Tree for the Burnaby Christmas Bureau. Families take a tag with a child’s age and buy a gift for them. Students in the Christmas Cheer Club at Burnaby North Secondary have been rallying the school community to support the Burnaby Christmas Bureau; together, they’ve raised nearly $14,500. Burnaby North Leadership students had some festive fun decorating trees in the evening at a local mall. The Deer Lake Rotary Club’s Festival of Lights is a fundraiser to buy new boots for children in Burnaby.
The South Slope Elementary Choir was invited to sing in front of an audience downtown for the CKNW Kids’ Fund Pledge Day. The students were broadcast live for the event, which raised nearly two million dollars for children in need. Students in the Professional Cook program won 3rd place in their category of the prestigious Gingerbread Lane Contest. The display – done by students from Moscrop, Alpha, Burnaby Mountain and Burnaby Central Secondary schools – is a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation that’s viewed by tens of thousands of people at the Hyatt Hotel in Vancouver.
Confederation Park put up a Giving Tree to gather mittens and socks for local clothing banks. The Student Government at Byrne Creek Community School helped organize the school’s annual Benefit Concert. Together, the community raised $10,000 worth of hampers for families.
Leadership students at Alpha Secondary donated their weekend time to decorate trees for the Christmas Bureau’s Toy Room. The school also held an Angel Toy Drive to further support the cause. Additionally, Alpha students worked with several grades at Brentwood Park. They made cards to go in hampers for the Burnaby Hospice and Burnaby Neighbourhood House.
Students from Brantford Elementary collected donations of food and toys to support the community on their Jingle Bell Walk. Children at Gilmore Community School also collected carloads of donations on their Mr. Morton Jingle Bell Walk. Additionally, each year Gilmore participates in Santa for a Senior, where gifts are given to people who may not have close family or friends to make their Christmas special.
Posted December 2025