Activism Inspired at St. Martin School
Protecting pandas: the efforts of these young activists were very successful exceeding their original goal. Photo StM
Success is delicious at this Black & White Bake Sale. Photo StM
TERRACE BAY, ON – Thursday January 16th, three young animal rights activists hosted a Black & White Day and Bake Sale at St. Martin School in Terrace Bay. Kade Michtics, Lea Olive and Sam Shermack began this quest after reading a book about pandas.
“We read a National Geographic magazine and found that there were only 1600 pandas left in the wild because the forests, where they live, have been cleared to make farms,” said Lea. Kade added that, “There was also a giant earthquake in China, in 2008 that ruined many of the panda’s homes, and this made us sad and we wanted to help the pandas.” Sam said, “At first we thought of starting a blog about the pandas, but then we thought of having all the kids at school wear black & white for $2 and to have a black & white bake sale to raise money to help the pandas.”
The kids then approached their principal to request permission for this venture. It was approved and notes were sent home asking kids to wear black & white and parents to donate black & white baking items. These requests were well received, and on the Panda Day, all students and teachers were dressed to match the panda’s colors. Parents, teachers and community members joined in to support the cause, bringing panda cookies & cupcakes, homemade Oreo cookies, whoopee pies and other black & white treats.
A goal of $275 had been set by the kids with the intention of adopting 5 pandas, (one for each classroom) from the World Wildlife Federation. With the outpouring of support from their peers, teachers and community, they exceeded their goal and raised $432.75; this allowed them to adopt a panda for each classroom and also an entire panda family for the school.
All three kids are so grateful for the all the support they received and are thrilled to be able to help the pandas.
