Dr. Emily Weiskopf-Ball’s Grade 11 English class at École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin is taking part in a special project that aims to raise money for charitable groups.
“Barons Quilts for Causes” is a project that sees students make unique quilts that will be auctioned off in support of One Kids Place, Nipissing Transition House, Noah Strong, Wounded Warriors and Crisis Centre North Bay.
Weiskopf-Ball says she originally planned for the project to be a small piece of her English curriculum.
“The students were so inspired and so into the project that they all really wanted to create their own quilts,” she explained. “It was just this little idea I had as something we could do that I figured wouldn’t last very long and it’s become this big thing that’s super inspiring as a teacher to see.”
The 26 students in the class have been split into five groups, all with the goal of designing and creating a unique quilt for their chosen organization.
They’ve learned how to sew, calculate the dimensions of the quilt, as well as design a website and media campaign for the auction.
“They were so open to the challenge of learning how to sew, how to create things, the patterns. They helped each other out to figure out the math of it. It was really cool,” Weiskopf-Ball said.
Kaylee Duchesne, a student in the class, says the project has given her an array of new experiences.
“I knew what a quilt was but I didn’t know how they were made,” she noted. “When we learnt, we took the challenge of trying to do something by ourselves.”
Duchesne’s classmate, Emilie Perron, says she is valuing the experience of being able to give back to the community.
“It showed me how, even though I’m still a teenager and still in high school, doing one small thing in class can mean I can make a big difference in this world,” Perron explained.
The completed quilts will be auctioned off through the class’s Facebook page, with bids being accepted until 4 pm on January 22.
The class’s goal is to raise as much money as it can for the causes.
