Cookie Monster once sang C is for Cookie, but a recent initiative at Ferndale Woods Elementary School in Barrie proved it also stands for community and charity.
The south-end school has collected nearly 2,000 boxes of cookies in the last couple of weeks, explained principal Angela Pino, who added the initiative was the brainchild of lead custodian Amber Godin.
Godin had heard about similar fundraisers and thought it would be a great way for the Ferndale Drive school to help others and support Christmas Cheer.
Dubbed the 'Kindness Cookies From Kids' campaign, it was a great way to showcase something the school has been focusing on this year.
“Kindness has been a huge focus here this year at Ferndale, so this was an opportunity for students to do something for the community surrounding them,” said vice-principal Alyssia Booy.
“We thought it would be fun, because kids love cookies, and it was,” said Godin. “They thought it was great bringing in packs of cookies rather than a can of peas.”
Two boxes of cookies will be included in each of the 18,000 food hampers that are expected to be distributed by the local charitable organization.
“Our goal at the school was to collect 1,000 (boxes),” said Godin, adding the goal was reached within the first three weeks of the campaign.
Pino said they expect to reach a total of 1,650 boxes of cookies collected by today.
“Everybody has come together. It’s been really positive for our community,” said Pino.
The daily announcements have included Cookie Monster trivia, and the hungry Muppet even visited the school to help collect cookies from classrooms, added Booy.
Pino said she was happy to see the students doing their part to help others.
“We were talking last week about the joy in this building with giving back to the community and that’s what we have seen a lot of, which has been fantastic,” she said. “As principal, I am proud that our community was able to come together to give back to Barrie.”
Ferndale Woods is no stranger to the generosity of its school community, added teacher Steven Saad, which is why it was so important for the school to return the kindness.
“We should do what’s within our power to send that generosity back into Barrie and the surrounding area," he said. "This is also a unique opportunity for students to see their own acts of kindness permeate the physical walls of our building and literally assist hundreds of people in need.
“I think students seeing firsthand the physical mountain of donations in the main foyer grow with each new day has been a driving factor for their continued support and one of the reasons this initiative has been so successful," Saad added.
To celebrate the achievement, Pino said the school will be hosting two assemblies on Friday, where staff members have “volunteered” to take a pie in the face while a few others will kiss a pig.
“We put it out there to staff to see who wanted to volunteer to do it and we had a huge response," she said. "There are probably 16 to 20 that volunteered.”
Pino, Booy and Godin will be among those puckering up for porky.
