Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
The students and staff from RJC High School are again taking an active role in supporting the Good Neighbours Food Centre.
On Monday, Dec. 9, the school is hosting a “Dine & Donate” supper with all proceeds going directly to GNFC for its Santa’s Toy Shop and food aid for families in need during the Christmas season. Admission for the meal of sausage and perogies is by donation, with any donation over $20 eligible for a tax receipt. The kitchen staff at RJC will prepare the meal and students in the school’s Faith & Life committee will provide table service and dinner music.
The fundraiser will be held in the RJC High School dining hall from 5 – 7 p.m. and is open to anyone. Students and staff encourage everyone to remember GNFC and the people they serve this Christmas.
The 2024 Feeding Holiday Cheer Campaign aims to raise $2M to address food insecurity during the holidays and into 2025. Food Banks of Saskatchewan asks everyone to help ensure that every family has food on their table over the festive season by donating. Donations received during the campaign will be distributed to 36 food banks across the province and donors can designate their donation directly to one of those registered food banks. Nutrien has again kicked off the campaign with a leading donation of $250,000. FBSK and the 36 individual food banks collectively raised over $3M in the 2023 Feeding Holiday Cheer campaign. Saskatchewan’s food banks had their busiest year in 2023, making it a challenge to build up sufficient food reserves. Inflation continued to accelerate, seriously impacting hunger and food insecurity, not only in low-income households but even those in higher income brackets which made the success of last year’s campaign especially heartening for all involved. Other corporate donors who made a gift of $5,000 or more to Food Banks of Saskatchewan for the 2023 Feeding Holiday Cheer Campaign include KPCL Dirt Movers, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, Varsteel, Saskatchewan Blue Cross, Parrish & Heimbecker, Richardson Pioneer Ltd, and Orano Canada Inc.
Good Neighbours Food Centre anticipates serving 250 families with Christmas food aid at approximately $100 per household. Each month GNFC provides food aid to approximately 1,000 people within a 50 km radius of Rosthern, of which 46 percent are children, well above the national average of 34 percent. With the switch to a free store model, between the ‘soft’ opening held on May 24th and the Grand Opening on June 20th, 21 new families had registered and started to come and access the services provided. June 14th saw 79 families come through the doors of GNFC Food Market to receive food assistance.
“This affirms that we are doing the right thing because those people have been sitting quietly in their homes, struggling with some level of food insecurity, feeling humble, feeling embarrassed, maybe somewhat ashamed, and they have felt that this is a more normalized kind of experience,” Former Executive Director, Betty Rudachyk stated at the time. “It has allowed them to go past their emotional and social barriers to come in and shop like they would at any grocery store.”
‘Santa’s Toy Shop’ is a free toy store for families registered to receive Christmas food aid. Registered parents can choose a toy for their child(ren). New toy donations in the $10 – $30 price range, for infants to teens are being accepted to “fill the store.” Cash donations earmarked for the toy drive are also appreciated to help fill any gaps for the different age groups. Donations can be dropped off at GNFC on Tuesday or Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
GivingTuesday, which follows the American Thanksgiving, was founded in 2013 in Canada by CanadaHelps.org, GIV3 and several other founding partners including the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Canada, Community Foundations of Canada, Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, the Canadian Red Cross, and others. GivingTuesday has active movements in more than 80 countries, working year-round to inspire generosity around the world, with a common mission to create a world where giving is part of everyday life. GivingTuesday is a global movement to do better for each other and the planet through acts of generosity and falls this year on December 3rd.
Founded in 1905, RJC High School (Rosthern Junior College) has continued its reputation for delivering well-rounded academic experiences to students for over 100 years. RJC is accredited by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education and a member of the Saskatchewan Association of Historical High Schools, holding a high standard of education. RJC is student-centered, community-focused, and rooted in the Anabaptist-Christian faith tradition. It places value on faith, service, leadership, and community in the education of its students who can be regularly found lending a hand whenever needed at GNFC.
