On September 30th, we will show solidarity with the Indigenous people of Canada and all Canadians, by observing Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. All staff and students will be strongly encouraged to wear an orange shirt as part of the civvies day already scheduled.
Last year, one of our students designed an extremely thoughtful and moving t-shirt that we sold to the community for a donation. As a result of these donations, in addition to the funds collected from homeroom classes, we raised more that $6000 for the Orange Shirt Society, an organization that is dedicated to education about the legacy of the residential school system. When our Holy Father, Pope Francis I visited Indigenous communities this past summer, he described what took place as genocide. It is our honour to continue supporting the Orange Shirt Society this year,
Starting on Monday, as a school community, there are two ways students and members of the community can support our fundraising efforts:
- Purchase an SJdB Orange shirt for a minimum donation of $2.
- Bring $2 to homeroom
100% of all funds collected will be donated to the Orange Shirt Society.
By September 30th, if we reach our fundraising goal of $5000, students will receive 5 additional civvies days throughout the month of October.
The generosity of the Black Bear community has always been great and we hope we can count on our community to support this exceptional organization. This is but one way that we can all contribute to much-needed and ongoing Truth and Reconciliation.