Poverty: In the Shadows

For this project, students will examine how poverty exists in our community and how it affects people. In particular, we will focus on how poverty is overlooked and make an effort to bring the issue out of the shadows through art. Part of the project may consist of taking students on field trips to community organizations that address poverty, such as food banks or homeless shelters. Once students have a good understanding of poverty, they will participate in creating an art project to educate others about the issue. Using various media, students will embed information and statistics about poverty in everyday scenes, to illustrate how it is present, yet overlooked in our society. To further extend this message, students may also create videos and audio to communicate their understanding of poverty and solutions to poverty. These videos can be embedded in the physical art pieces, using augmented reality apps, to create a multimedia experience that educates about the issue.
Student projects will be displayed in the school to teach others about poverty in our community and to promote action during our annual food drive.

Update (December 13, 2014)

On November 25, 2014, students from Golden Gate Middle School's social justice club attended a field trip to Siloam Mission. The purpose of this field trip was to give students a better idea of what it means to live in poverty in Winnipeg and how organizations work to help the less fortunate in our community.

During the field trip, the students learned about the seven types of power and how many homeless people are lacking them. They also learned about how Siloam Mission helps individuals regain power and hope. We toured the facility and learned about how Siloam Mission offers many services to the homeless, such as medical facilities, work placements, and a place to sleep. We learned about the basic needs that Siloam Mission helps address, such as the need for clean clothes, soap and shampoo, and food.

We were particularly interested in the art room, where individuals can learn new skills, build confidence and even sell their artwork. This connected with the students' art project, which involves creating art pieces that will raise awareness about what it means to live in poverty.

Students returned to school with many new ideas for their art pieces, which they continue to work on. As well, they have planned to run some fundraising drives to help the homeless as cold weather approaches. The field trip has helped support the students' drive to take action in our school and local community.

Update (June 16, 2015)

After visiting Siloam Mission earlier this year, the students worked on art pieces that raised awareness about poverty. This helped them further explore the issue of poverty and how it affects people.

With this deeper understanding, our students decided to support Jump Start and Kids Sport, two charities that help support less fortunate children in our community. Both organizations help children participate in different extracurricular activities that would otherwise be out of reach. The social justice club students decided that keeping young people engaged in these activities was a good way to help them gain skills and confidence, build relationships, and avoid some problems associated with poverty.

With this in mind, we held a Mini-We Day and Talent Show to raise awareness about the issue. The social justice club students took on the task of educating students about how Jump Start and Kid Sport help our community. They wrote speeches, found video clips, interviewed people, and designed presentations, all to help communicate the importance of helping children who live in poverty. During the talent show, people were able to vote for their favourite acts by donating money to Jump Start. Afterwards, the school also had a fundraising drive to help support these two charities and assist those living in poverty.