A fire hall is no stranger to hoses, buckets and water, and there’ll be plenty on display Saturday in Breslau where school kids will be waiting to scrub your car.
Students in the Grade 8 class at Breslau Public School and their parents are hosting a fundraising car wash and bottle drive on May 27 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Funds raised will be split between Woolwich Community Services and a year-end celebration for the graduating class, as well as yearbooks.
Cars will be washed by donation.
The students and their parents have been working to raise funds for the graduating class, holding bottle drives and a pizza fundraiser, for instance.
Alissa Bingeman, a mother of one of the graduating kids and a fundraising organizer, said it was the kids’ idea to split the proceeds of the carwash with Woolwich Community Services.
“We talked to the kids about it, the students, and they wanted to do something that involves giving back to the community. This is how we came up with the idea of doing a charity car wash that the students would benefit from, as well as the local community.”
“What’s neat about this event is that Breslau Public School Grade 8 students have taken the initiative to plan a fun event to raise funds for their year-end celebration. Community members can contribute to a great cause and drive away with a clean car,” said Nancy Lucier, the community engagement coordinator for Woolwich Community Services. “The added bonus is that you can clean out your garage of empty bottles for their bottle drive.
“We are encouraged and thankful when we have youth in our community that are fundraising for Woolwich Community Services. It demonstrates their capacity to think of others and the importance of their own contribution to helping others. It’s a great spring-time event being held at the fire hall and we hope that lots of people will support their efforts.”
A graduation event will be in contrast to the virtual commencement ceremonies that were held during the pandemic.
Bingeman says it was hard to watch another child who was finishing Grade 8 at the time to be let down by their graduation. She says making sure her kid currently finishing Grade 8 and their classmates aren’t disappointed is what drives her to raise funds for a year-end celebration.
“We’re doing it for the kids. We want to see that smile on the kids’ faces and not a letdown. Because I went through this two years ago with my eldest daughter, and it was the biggest letdown ever because it was the only class that graduated that got nothing. They got their diplomas with the report cards on the last day of school.
“And you know, when you’ve seen other years with kids, having a big party and you got nothing, even the year before COVID, when COVID had just started, those kids, they set up tables outside in front of the school. The parents were allowed to come, they called each kid up, they got a little goodie bag, they got to see teachers and that was kind of their send off.”
This year, parents of the graduating Grade 8 class are raising funds to host a celebration of their own, beyond the school’s plans.
The car wash will be held at the Breslau fire hall – 51 Beacon Point Ct. – on Saturday starting at 8 a.m. They will also be holding a bottle drive, and ask people to bring their empty bottles and cans.
