For this edition of the Student Spotlight, we will not be highlighting the work of an individual student. Instead, we want to focus on a group of students (and their wonderful instructor) who have truly embraced the spirit of giving and worked tirelessly to bring holiday cheer to Winnipeg families.

In early November, Kim Mann’s class decided that they would like to help other students who might need some cheer during the holidays. Knowing that many LTC students request hampers from the Christmas Cheer Board, they decided to partner with this organization. As a group, they set a goal of collecting enough food, money and gifts to make 6 hampers.

During the month of November, the students worked with their instructor to promote the food drive while learning new English skills by completing real-world tasks. Below, Kim shares just a few examples of the work that her students completed:

• They created posters to hang up in the college. This was a great activity because they had to negotiate with classmates regarding the necessary information that should be included on their posters.

• They sold crocheted hats for a minimum donation of $1. This activity gave students the opportunity to share information about the food drive with other students. The students loved this activity because they could communicate with other students.

• At the beginning of the food drive, students had to create presentations to inform other students about the event. They each visited 5 classes to present their information.

• They attended presentation delivered by students in the Community Economic Development program at RRC to learn about how they ran their food drive. This sparked great conversation and idea sharing amongst the students.

By the end of November, the class not only met, but surpassed their goal and were able to raise enough money and food items to make 7 food hampers. Along with the hampers, they donated 2 boxes of toys and stocking stuffers, $115, and 10 boxes of extra donations that the Christmas Cheer Board will be able to use to complete hampers that they are working on. The class delivered the donations to the Cheer Board on Friday, December 7^th.

By participating in this activity, students learned valuable lessons in teamwork, language and Canadian culture. Below, the students share some feedback about their experience:

• I learned how to communicate with people, how to share, how to help each other and how to have conversations.

• It’s good to help others because it makes me feel good about my life.

• I hope that I will take part in this activity every year.

A message from Kim Mann’s class to the staff and students at the Language Training Centre:

My class and I would like to thank everyone who supported us during our food drive for the Christmas Cheer Board. Our success would not have been possible without the support of the staff and students of the LTC.