A home school teacher and her two students have taken action to help flood victims in the Deh Cho.
Sheilany Bouchard, and brother and sister Elijah Engen and Clare Engen, sold lemonade and baked goods in the parking lot of Our Lady of Assumption Roman Catholic Church on May 12.
After just 45 minutes, they had raised $325 from the sales and donations from passers-by.
“My students are happy. Proud of them and the great people of our community,” said Bouchard in a Facebook message to the town. “What a great way to show youth the importance of kindness and helping each other in any situation.”
Both 11-year-old Clare and Elijah, 8, were enthusiastic to help.
“We’re raising money for Jean Marie River and Fort Simpson,” said Clare.
Asked what they hoped the money they raised would be used for, Elijah said, “Warm clothes, food and everything for everyone.”
And Clare hopes some of the money could be used for tents and sleeping bags.
Bouchard said it was her idea to do the fundraising.
“I was just listening to the news and I thought, ‘Hey, we need to do something. We need to help out,’” she said. “And I think the best way to help out is to involve children so they also understand. Like Elijah would say, instead of a math lesson, it’s a kind lesson. So who would love to do a math lesson if they could do a kind lesson?”
Bouchard noted that Clare and Elijah love to help and love to give to a good cause.
“So I knew they would be jumping in that project, and they did,” she said. “We did our lemonade. We had brownies. We baked our cookies.”
Bouchard said they started their sales, and began accepting donations, over the noon hour.
One of the people stopping by to make a donation was Nancy Makepeace, who lived in Fort Simpson for nine years.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Makepeace said of the fundraising by the teacher and students. “Learning empathy at such a young age.”
