“The world is full of things they say are “not doable.” But there’s a whole movement of people creating good in the world in ways we never imagined. Each and every one of us is entirely capable of changing the world. Because WE makes doing good, doable.”
~ WE.org
The Clover School is a proud partner of WE Schools, a unique, four-step program that challenges young people to identify the local and global issues that spark their passion and empowers them to take action.
As an organization, WE is dedicated to a five-pillar model for sustainable international development to bring about sustainable positive change in communities around the world. These pillars include education, water and sanitation, access to sustainable food sources, opportunity, and health.
The WE Schools Program
Each year, WE Schools visit the We Global Learning Centre for a service learning day where students work with members of WE to plan their fundraising initiatives for the year. While they are there, students learn about the five pillars, as well as the needs of various communities and causes around the world in order to decide where to focus their efforts for the year to come.
Last year, students of The Clover School’s middle school program, The Grove, decided to focus on education in Kenya. They understand how important education is and how fortunate they are to have such a great education here in Canada, so they wanted to help give better educational opportunities to others who might not have the same privilege.
Once a school has chosen their cause, the WE Schools program provides teachers and students with a curriculum, educational resources and a full calendar of action campaign ideas. Students gain an understanding of the root causes of pressing issues like hunger, poverty and access to education as they explore how they can make positive impacts. They also plan and carry out at least one local and one global action to improve their communities and the world.
Last year, The Grove sold rafiki bracelets at our school events throughout the year, which were made by women in Kenya. We also dedicated our annual Winter Market to raising proceeds for our WE School program. Half of the proceeds that we raised last year were given directly to the women who made the bracelets and the other half went to funding the Kenyian educational program initiatives of WE.
The Grove also participated in a day of action called WE Are Silent, where schools take a vow of silence in solidarity with communities around the world whose voices go unheard. Throughout the winter term, they studied different global communities who they felt were silenced, which included research on LGTBQ communities, children’s rights, women’s rights, mental health, and Canada’s First Nations. They then organized a day of action at The Clover School where they took a four-hour vow of silence in the morning. In the afternoon, they went around the school presenting their research projects to other classrooms, and all of the proceeds they raised went to support the educational impact pillar of the WE Villages Program.
WE Day
As a result of their hard work and dedication to participating in the WE School program last year, our students had the opportunity to attend WE Days 2019 on Thursday, September 19th. Tickets to WE Day are not for sale, children and youth must earn them by completing a year of fundraising, advocacy, and service to a good cause. It goes without saying that we are so proud of our middle schoolers for setting such an impactful-drive goal and accomplishing what they set out to do!
The entire group, along with three of our educators, spent the day at the Scotiabank Area for WE Day 2019. Special guests included David Suzuki, Rupi Kaur, and Sarah McLachlan, Noah Schnapp, Tegan and Sara, and many more. It was such a phenomenal experience. Our students left feeling motivated, inspired, and ready to start making a difference in our community– and around the world– once again this year.
Congratulations to The Grove, our middle school group at The Clover School. You certainly earned it!
The Clover School will participate in advocacy and fundraising as a WE School again this year. Our visit to the We Global Learning Centre is coming up this month, where we will decide which pillar of sustainability we would like to support for the year to come. The Grove has already begun the initial planning for some exciting fundraising events, including our annual Winter Market and some special events we can’t reveal just yet.
They have some very exciting things in store this year, so stay tuned!