Press releases

Desjardins Foundation Prizes help create positive experiences that get young people excited about school

August 28, 2024

We all remember the teachers who made school fun. The Desjardins Foundation Prizes support today's inspiring teachers with grants of up to $3,000 to fund initiatives for kindergarten, elementary or high school students.

"A PE teacher once told us their school had a great ice rink right behind it, and the students in their class wanted to take advantage of it. However, half of them didn't have skates and the school didn't have the money to buy any," said Nancy Lee, Executive Director of the Desjardins Foundation. "Lots of schools have stories like this! There are plenty of teachers and community workers who have very simple ideas that would have a big impact on students' motivation, but they lack the funds to put them in action."

That's what inspired the Desjardins Foundation Prizes. The goal is to give these exceptional people more power to implement simple initiatives that can get kids excited about going to school. So far, over 3,000 teachers and community workers have created initiatives that benefited 500,000 young people.

The selected projects are almost as varied as people who submit them! Here are 2 examples:

Cobden District Public School project builds community connections
At the start of the school year, Cobden District Public School teachers J. Bell and S. Wylie gave their students an opportunity to talk about how they could make their small, welcoming community a better place. The students came up with the idea of crocheting blankets to donate to the village's seniors' residence and to people in need. The students soon became dab hands in the art of crocheting. Each student made a small square, which would later be sewn together with others into a blanket. The students dove right into the work. Some practised crocheting at home, and others shared tips with their classmates. The crochet sessions at school made for pleasant moments for all.

"It was so touching to see how proud the students were as they talked about their project and the impact they were having on our community. That's what I loved the most!" says Principal Samantha Noack. "The most important thing they learned was definitely to keep on going, even after they realized that making blankets was harder than they thought," notes Ms. Bell.

Description

Transcript

Desjardins Foundation Prizes: beautiful blankets for a cause

2:57

The Desjardins Foundation Prizes enable anyone working in a school or community organization to receive up to $3,000 to carry out an initiative with young people in kindergarten, elementary or high school. Projects like Beautiful blankets for a cause, at Cobden District Public School.

Desjardins Foundation Prizes: beautiful blankets for a cause

Text transcript of the video - Desjardins Foundation - Beautiful Blankets for a Cause (English)

Note: The information in brackets describes the visual and audio content of the video, and the rest of the text corresponds to spoken content.

[Context: Throughout the video, teachers and students from Cobden District Public School explain their project “Beautiful Blankets for a Cause”, possible through a grant from Desjardins Foundation Prizes. Their testimonies explain the process, from original idea, to the student’s learning and the impact on the community. The Desjardins Foundation Prizes grant allowed them to convey these acts of kindness and gave life to this motivating initiative.]

[Music plays throughout the video.]

[We see a group of students holding a blanket and looking at the camera.]

We are making blankets for people in need.

[We see students writing their names on a production clapperboard.]

We wanted to do something kind. Because we're helping other people that don't have these things. When I went to school, I felt like really good because I wanted to make a difference in the world.

[We see a teacher.]

We are a caring, a caring group of people.

[We see students using the clapperboard to clap.]

[We see the front of the school.]

[Text on screen: Give life to motivating initiatives with the Desjardins Foundation Prizes.]

[We see Mme J. Bell giving testimony.]

[Text on screen: Mme J. Bell, Teacher, Grade 3/4, Cobden District Public School.]

So our beautiful blankets for cause project has kept us busy for the last few weeks.

[We see Mrs. S. Wylie giving testimony.]

[Text on screen: Mrs. S. Wylie, Teacher, Grade 3, Cobden District Public School.]

We made a bucket list, at the very beginning of the year, of all the ways we could make a difference in the world. We had some students that were interested in learning how to finger knit.

[We see students crocheting]

It progressed to crocheting.

[We see a student giving testimony.]

Most of us didn't know how to crochet.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

At the first of the project I was wondering how I would do it and I felt a little bit nervous.

[We see Samantha Noack giving testimony.]

[Text on screen: Samantha Noack, Interim Principal, Cobden District Public School.]

My involvement has been, uh, proud onlooker. The best part has been to hear firsthand from the kids what it is they're working on.

[We see students crocheting]

[We see Mrs. S. Wylie giving testimony.]

So the students said that if we had the mat-- we had the money to buy the materials then we could start this project.

[We see Mme J. Bell giving testimony.]

I taught the students how to do those first couple of stitches.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

When Madame Bell started us with 30, um, stitches, and then we started to go into the um, loops and then...

[We see another student giving testimony.]

You have to go like this and then rip the rows and turn around. That was the hard part.

[We see Mrs. S. Wylie giving testimony.]

And they wanted to make blankets because they knew that there could be a variety of places that they could donate them to.

[We see crafts on the classroom wall promoting kindness.]

[We see Samantha Noack giving testimony.]

And for that they selected Crescent Care which is a retirement community here in Cobden.

[We see Mrs. S. Wylie giving testimony.]

So originally I received an email from the Desjardins Foundation, and it was an opportunity to apply for a grant.

[We see Mme J. Bell giving testimony.]

We would not have been able to afford the wool, the crochet hooks.

[We see students crocheting]

[We see a student giving testimony.]

First thing I knit was a square.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

But the first time I did it, it wasn't like a blanket, it turned into like a U. So I had to like restart.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

I used the pink and white one because it's the softest and there was no more gray.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

I would wanna do it again. And I feel like I was a pro at it.

[We see the student holding the blanket with her friend.]

[We see Mme J. Bell giving testimony.]

I would say that the most important thing they learned was to keep trying.

[We see a student giving testimony.]

Um, the most important thing I learned was to never give up.

[We see Mrs. S. Wylie giving testimony.]

I would tell anybody who's on the verge of starting a project to search up the Desjardins Foundation and seek out the opportunities because it's easy to apply.

[We see students crocheting]

[We see Mme J. Bell giving testimony.]

And to be able to make a difference in your community. It's been a great learning experience for us as educators, as well as for our students.

[We see a student giving testimony.]

Thank you for helping us.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

Thank you for letting us having balls of yarn so we can make blankets 'cause I like helping people out.

[We see another student giving testimony.]

Thank you for like letting me learn a new skill.

[We see students waving, surrounded by yarn and blankets.]

[Text on screen: Application period yearly from October 1 to October 31. Details and form at desjardinsfoundation.com/prizes]

[We hear the Desjardins jingle.]

[We see the Desjardins logo.]

A greening project takes root at Joseph-Hermas-Leclerc high school
Corinne Dion's class at Joseph-Hermas-Leclerc high school planted flowers and vegetation in front of their school. She explained that this is a great way to teach young people about the environment and the importance of respecting it.

The financial assistance paid for the plants needed for the greening project, equipment such as shovels and gloves for students to get involved in the project, plus a workshop with a botanist. What did they like the most? Having a good time with classmates, beautifying their school, and learning there are lots of simple things we can all do every day to help improve our shared planet.

"Desjardins Foundation Prizes benefit everyone: students, teachers and schools. That's why whenever someone asks me if they should submit a project, I always say yes!," explains Anne-Marie Ménard, Principal of Joseph-Hermas-Leclerc high school. "The Foundation supports our projects in ways that are different from what we're usually able to do, so it helps teachers be creative."

Promote the program—it's a great way to motivate young people!
Many of us know someone who works at a school or community organization. Tell them about the Desjardins Foundation Prizes! The application period runs from October 1 to 31 every year. The Desjardins Foundation Prize winners for 2024 will be announced the week of December 2. Visit our website for more informations.