Literally moving from “me” to “we”

By Reanna Thiessen Strathmore High School

For whatever reason I have just always loved to help. Any task, anytime, anywhere; I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and pitching in. So, when I joined Me to We, I knew I had found the perfect fit.
The club started in 2010 after teacher Christine Magill organized a group of 21 students for a volunteer trip to Kenya. The students were so moved by what they saw there that they wanted to start a club at Strathmore High School (SHS) to encourage more student involvement both globally and locally.
In the last nine years, Me to We has done six volunteer trips to Kenya, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and it is about to embark on its seventh trip this April to Ecuador. Participants have built a classroom in Kenya, sponsored a student to attend high school and are in the process of sponsoring a second student from Uganda named Felista.
Magill met Felista in her travels before the sponsorship and students are now able to communicate with her and see her progress in school. This has created a more meaningful connection and gives a greater purpose to the club’s efforts.
Without sponsorship Felista would not be able to attend high school as her family is extremely poor. To be able to send Felista to school for those four years, the Me to We club has set a goal of raising $3,000. To achieve this goal, the students have been holding bake sales and coin drives, and are currently organizing their annual benefit concert and silent auction. The concert has an exciting lineup of talent all set to perform April 10 at 6 p.m. in the theatre.
The Me to We club focuses not only on international involvement, but also on local involvement. Magill explains, “We try to look for opportunities that students have an interest in. One of the things we’ve been doing for the last three years is working with Wheatland Lodge. Once a month we play bingo with the seniors. When we first started going, some seniors talked about hearing negative stereotypes about teenagers. The interaction with our students really changed their perception and they realized how wonderful and caring our students really are.”
The club also volunteers for various local events that occur around town, including We Scare Hunger in the fall, an event that organizes students to go door to door on Halloween for food bank donations.
The Me to We program run through We Charity focuses on using a collaborative method when it comes to helping out rather than a top down method. They believe that by working with communities it will provide longer lasting results instead of just a temporary fix. This partnership allows students to feel more connected and knowledgeable about real life issues.
Strathmore High School’s motto, Empowering Connected, Caring, Accomplished Citizens, is one that Magill believes the Me to We club hits on perfectly.
“We are very much about being connected to both the local and the global community, and trying to build connections with organizations and people outside of the school along with connections between students who may not normally spend time together. The process for the students to become these connected, caring, accomplished citizens is one that takes time and effort, but the rewards far outweigh the effort.”
If people would like to support Me to We, they can plan to attend the benefit concert (admission by donation), volunteer to perform or donate auction items for this important event. For more information, contact Christine Magill at christine.magill@ghsd75.ca.