For the second straight year, schools within the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will be raising funds and awareness to support people experiencing homelessness in the region through its Homes for Hope fundraiser.
The initiative will see a full-sized tiny home and nine replicas built by students at each of the board's properties for one week until Nov. 18. Donations will be collected and donated to A Better Tent City in Kitchener and The Bridges in Cambridge.
"This initiative is not only about raising funds but also about raising awareness of the critical work these organizations do," the board said in a release on its website.
"By supporting A Better Tent City and The Bridges, we help shed light on the issue of homelessness in our community."
Each school is also encouraged to get involved and engage with its students.
Last year, Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School ran an event known as a "Better Tent City Sleep Out" that saw students camp out on school property. The purpose was to draw attention to the issue while giving students a glimpse of what many in the community are experiencing.
"I think the face of homelessness is changing," Monsignor Doyle student Rebecca Balfour said before the sleep out.
"You can't go downtown without seeing it right in your face and there's people our age who are affected by it, even people at our school. I want to do anything I can to help."
Anyone looking to donate can visit wcdsb.ca.
