Awareness is the first step to meaningful change...

Patrick Fogarty CSS is proud to offer two unique educational initiatives for the 2011/2012 school year which are centered on social justice: the Kenya Leadership Program and a new Specialist High Skills Major in the Not for Profit sector. The Kenya Leadership Program involves an academic component in which themes specific to the Developing World will be studied. The highlight of the program is a pilgrimage to rural Kenya. The SHSM program is a new initiative at the school which will allow students to focus their studies on making a difference in the world while also getting hands on, practical experiences. A key component to both programs is having students engaged in a profound life changing experience. Whether that experience is locally or internationally the point is that a foundation will be laid for civic activism and involvement.

An important part of these programs is using this new found passion for social justice to make a change in our own community. Our Imagine-Action project centers on bringing awareness on an ongoing basis to the Patrick Fogarty and Orillia community. This awareness campaign will build on the social justice foundation set by the above two programs. We feel that once the seeds of passion for justice have been planted in our students, the next step will be concrete action. We want to be part of planting more seeds of change.

Students will be leading a variety of initiatives within the school to bring awareness to local issues. Some of these are: bringing awareness to those in Orillia living below the poverty line; conducting a “fair trade Christmas” campaign in which students are able to provide an opportunity for their fellow students to buy goods that are fairly made and traded in solidarity with people living in poverty and to draw correlations between our culture sharing experience with the people of Kenya to our own aboriginal population within Simcoe County.

Update (October 30, 2012)

“[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.”—On Social Concern, 1987

One of the highlights of our Kenya Leadership program and our Specialist High Skills Major in Not for Profit program was our Fair Trade Christmas sale in December 2011. We transformed our chapel into place where students, staff and community members could come and purchase fair trade products from a selection of hundreds of items ranging from home décor, handmade jewelry, exquisite art work and fair trade food. By the end of the sale we had sold $7000.00 of goods in just a week; exceeding all of our expectations. All the money raised was sent back to the companies that provided us with the products: Ten Thousand Villages and Me to We. Both organizations work with artisans around the world to provide a market for their fairly made goods. Through this relationship, they are assisting in breaking the cycle of poverty worldwide.

The true meaning of Christmas was felt throughout Patrick Fogarty CSS last December. Through awareness we were able to educate ourselves and others about the importance of working in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the developing world. The gifts that were given to others last Christmas were truly gifts that give twice: not only were the recipients touched by the thoughtfulness and creativity of the artisans work, they also were humbled by the fact that each gift meant we are one step closer to breaking the cycle of poverty in our world.

Update (October 30, 2012)

We were able to lead many exciting awareness initiatives throughout the school year. Building on the success of our Fair Trade Christmas, we hosted an all local, all fair trade barbeque for the school to showcase the importance of being a conscious consumer.