Retired Vancouver teacher and member of the Royal City Gogos, Janine Reid, had a idea on how to engage Vancouver students about global understanding and global citizenship. She approached Janey Lee at Thunderbird Elementary School to see if she would be interested in doing the "Red Shoe Lace Campaign" at Thunderbird.

Lee, who is an award winning Kindergarten teacher, jumped at the opportunity to engage her students and school in the project.

"We are really proud of our Thunderbird students," says Lee. "-and how exited they were to support the Red Shoelace Campaign and orphaned children in Africa to help them go to school."

Their project fundraises for African orphans who are living with their grandmas. Money from selling these red shoelaces goes towards helping to support these kids by paying for food, or purchasing supplies so the grandmas can make crafts to sell, or paying for uniforms, tuition or school supplies.

The We Day Student Leaders at the school made posters and daily announcements to encourage students to bring to support this initiative. They even demonstrated creative ways to wear their shoe lace (in their hair, on their clothes, back pack, tied to their shoe laces, around their wrists, around their glasses etc.)

The Red Shoe Lace Campaign was a great success and raised over $500 in just under two weeks to help orphaned children in Africa go to school. 

Adds Lee, "It's a great example of Canadian children demonstrating global citizenship in our schools and the support and leadership of the Thunderbird We Day Students."

The hope was to raise over $500 at Thunderbird and help send a few students to school in Africa, and Reid hopes this will inspire other schools and students to get involved.

"I'm sure other schools would be able to raise more funds and greater awareness and promote global understanding and global citizenship in their schools as well. It's been wonderful awareness building for our schools and encourages the students to give back in a global way," she says.

Reid recently presented a certificate of Global Citizenship to the students and staff at Thunderbird Elementary.

Click on the image below to see more photos on Flickr.