WIC students learn that every act of kindness and generosity counts!
“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” rings especially true for West Island College students.
Community and citizenship are two of WIC’s six core values and service learning is central to the student experience at West Island College. The College has built its reputation on interactive and meaningful local community engagement over the last five decades.
Our Service Learning Coordinator, Mr. Abravanel, helps students find the organizations that need volunteers but he also connects them to causes that have meaning to them. This program is designed to offer students the opportunity to engage in a cycle of:
- inquiry (what type of service would they like to be a part of);
- action (doing the service); and
- reflection (reflecting on their impact and learning).
Connecting students to the community is an essential component of education that can help them practice skills, develop cultural humility and cross-cultural knowledge, learn about social inequities and health care disparities, and foster positive relationships. Students also feel empowered and less anxious about the world they live in since they can experience the impact of their kindness and generosity firsthand.
Below are some of the school-wide initiatives that have already taken place in the 2022-23 academic year:
Operation Smile (October) – Operation smile is a nonprofit organization that helps children with cleft lips or cleft palates get safe corrective surgery. Something that truly changes their life forever. This year, as every year, the Interact Club organized a bake sale to raise money for the organization and the students of West Island College didn’t disappoint. They brought toonies and loonies to buy different assortments of treats, provided by the club, to support the organization and change a child’s life.
West Island Mission Food Drive (September) – The West Island Mission is a nonprofit organization that provides food to those in need however unfortunately at the beginning of this year they were low on reserves that’s when the west island college students jumped into action donating non-perishable foods
JDRF-WIC Walkathon (October) – We were thrilled to bring back our annual tradition, the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Walk for the Cure. Our entire campus (staff and students) walked together on October 20th to raise important funds for research into a cure for Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.
WIAIH Halloween Festivities (October) – Recently, students eagerly volunteered to help with Halloween festivities for West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped. WIAIH strives to enhance the lives of people with an intellectual disability or autism, to provide support to their families, and to maintain and develop innovative services and sensitize the community.
November for Nets (November) – The Interact Club organized its annual fundraiser called November for Nets, to give to the United to Beat Malaria Fund for their malaria prevention program in Africa and for the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Fund by hosting a basketball shooting competition.
Giving Tuesday (November ) – Get ready for next year’s Giving Tuesday. Please consider supporting WIC’s health and wellness initiatives, helping provide learning tools such as sports equipment, musical instruments, arts and sciences supplies, and helping provide scholarships and bursaries to deserving students.
T4 Day (December) Tins, Toys, Toonies, Toiletries – T4 Day is a tradition. Every year, our Interact Club students collect piles of tins, toys, toiletries and toonies to be donated to the Fonds de dépannage de l’Ouest-de-l’Île/West Island Assistance Fund and the West Island Women’s Shelter to provide for local families in need.
Whether it’s a smile, monetary donation, time, a good deed for the environment…everyone has something to contribute towards building the better world we all want to live in.