When Boissevain School teacher Krista Clyne asked her students who would be most deserving of the proceeds from their upcoming car wash fundraiser, it was grade four student Joel Neufeld who suggested helping people around the world experiencing hunger though Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
Joel’s father Bradley (Buck) Neufeld was a farmer by trade, and an enthusiastic member of the Boissevain Morton Whitewater (BMW) growing project. Sadly, he passed away in May this year.
“There is history behind it,” says Krista. “We decided we wanted to do something to help out a community project, because with the crazy year, there’s been a lot of struggling businesses and organizations. I have a little boy in my class whose dad was a huge supporter of the Foodgrains Bank, and they have a local project.”
His classmates all voted in support of the suggestion, and Foodgrains Bank was added to the list of charities which would receive a portion of the funds raised – along with Westman Animal Rescue and the Grads of 2021.
On Friday, June 4, two classes of grade four students came together to host the carwash, while five grade 12 students volunteered as valets, to reduce the number of people in the area.
Photo credit: Audrey Paschke
“We had a great turnout,” says Krista. “The cars weren’t the cleanest in the end but parents were so supportive and just said what a great job they were doing, because the kids were working hard. It was 35 degrees that day, they were working hard, and lots of great things came from the day.”
No matter how clean the cars may have ended up, it was the students’ enthusiasm and joy that made the day a resounding success.
For students Zayden Ducharme, Stella Paschke and Claire Birch, washing the fire truck was one of their highlights.
Joel Neufeld, whose father’s longstanding involvement in Foodgrains Bank was an inspiration for the fundraiser, said: “It was fun washing cars for people!”
Tianna Martens told us “it was fun donating to other places that need help,” and Paige Tetrault-Taggart said it was “a fun time being the donation girl because I got to collect the money and be in the shade.”
While many parents and members of the school community did get their cars washed, Krista also noticed people stopping just to offer donations.
The car wash raised about $750, with a third of the proceeds going to the Foodgrains Bank.
