Hastings Public School - Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board - Who Is NOBODY?

Hastings – It was a pretty sweet scene – heaps of delectable chocolate chip cookies and a companion tray of Rice Krispie squares.

Hastings Public School - Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board - Who Is NOBODY?

Making a difference: Ben Sherwin shows off Nobody a doll that is gradually being transformed into a somebody by students involved in the Who is Nobody program at Hastings Public School. Students in two HPS classes are engaged in personal projects that help the environment, animals or people.

And the HPS students and staffers who snapped them up not only satisfied a mid-morning craving they were making their own personal contribution to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

The bake sale was organized by Grade 3 student Ben Sherwin as part of the “Who is Nobody” program and it had a very special meaning because Ben’s brother, Jacob, 12 makes regular trips to the CHEO for cancer treatment.

“Every little thing helps. It doesn’t matter how small,” Ben said of the fundraiser while selling goodies to students and staff with classmate Bailey Fife.

Ben also did a presentation in class to explain what the hospital means to his brother.

“I just wanted them to know that maybe by helping he will get better.”

All of the young students are examples of grassroots activism that can make a difference in the communities they live in and the wider world— Bailey Fife

Jacob has to visit the Children’s Hospital twice a month.

Through the Who is Nobody program, HPS students in two classes are personally involved in projects that focus on a cause that helps the environment, animals or people. Some are doing fundraisers others are engaged in public awareness campaigns. All of the young students are examples of grassroots activism that can make a difference in the communities they live in and the wider world.

Hastings Public School - Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board - Who Is NOBODY?

Lending a helping hand Cookie monsters: Ben Sherwin, centre, did a roaring trade in chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Squares during a fundraiser he organized for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. He got a salesmen’s assist from classmate Bailey Fife.

This article was published in the The Hastings Community Newspaper on 1st April 2007