a sponsorship value and pay to have the
kids’ families attend the ceremony.
“The fact that some of these kids are
still in school is something that we want
to celebrate,” said Longstaff. “And we
want to celebrate with their families
and we want everyone to gather to do
that. For us to have that support from
SHCA and other sponsors to bring those
families together is incredible. We are
so thankful.
“These kids have overcome so much
already in their young lives and we want
them to be able to celebrate their educa-tional
progress and achievements with
their families.”
As well, Barilla, a self-taught magician,
will return to the school in a different role
on April 24 to host a magic show for all
students and share in a pizza party.
SHCA’s involvement with Mother
Teresa dates back to November 2017 at
the annual convention when a Grade 12
student who had advanced through the
program shared her story of overcoming
many hardships in life to contractors.
“There were more than a few contrac-tors
in the room who took that pret-ty
hard,” said Lipp . “Not everyone in the
room had a dry eye after she spoke. These
guys do make a good living, but they are
true believers in giving back to their com-munities
where it counts the most.
“Kids, in their eyes, set the foundation
for where we’re going tomorrow. Anything
that involves children really seems to res-onate
with these guys.”
SHCA members have been funding the
Mother Teresa Middle School individu-ally,
while Kelly Panteluk Construction
Ltd. in Estevan has made donations to the
Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.
Not only do these donations go a long
way to help with the program’s success,
but the generosity sets an example of
community leadership, which is also an
important learning tool for the students.
“This provides an incredible example to
our students regarding who they can as-pire
to be, the kind of people they can as-pire
to be,” said Longstaff. “Our students
are being provided an education that will
allow them to go out and serve in their
community and give back. So, when peo-ple
donate their money or their time, it
gives our students a real-life example to
see what it means to be a good communi-ty
partner, to be a good person.”
FEATURE
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