Nanaimo teachers’ association Operation Grinch
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“Daleena Siggelkow and Paulina Slobodan (right, pic by Niomi Pearson) want to challenge other students in Nanaimo’s school district to not just give with their hearts, but their shoeboxes as well,” says the News Bulletin, going on:
“The Grade 11 students, who organized a shoebox drive for Operation Christmas Child at Nanaimo District Secondary School, hope other schools will bump up their shoebox stocks before the end of the campaign.
“It’s a small way to make a big difference,” the story has Slobodan saying. “There’s kids out there that have never had anything new and they can change that.”
Right. They say charity begins at home, but now the Net has turned the world into a huge global village …..
Then ‘religion’ rears its ugly head.
The Nanaimo District Teachers’ Association filed a grievance against the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district after teachers from three schools complained about the donations.
“Two teachers from Woodlands Secondary School complained to their union, after 26 teachers agreed to participate in Operation Christmas Child, a charity program organized by Canada’s branch of Samaritan’s Purse International,” says the Times Columnist, going on:
“The ideological showdown began in October after the Woodlands student council decided to help children in Paraguay by filling shoe boxes with gifts. This was the first time students at the school participated in the program, but 22 other schools filled hundreds of shoe boxes this year and have for several years.
“NDTA president Kip Wood said teachers from at least two other schools disagree with Samaritan Purse because of its evangelical ideology. The school district offered little details about the grievance that could change policy or at least clarify which groups are acceptable for the public school system.”
It continues »»»
The donations are not bribes to convert people to Christianity, according to Mike Ulrich, communications adviser for Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan’s Purse Canada is part of the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that provides assistance to people in 70 countries “regardless of religion, race, gender or socio-economic standing,” according to the group’s website.
“We’ve found in the past that a lot of people have misinformation about the program,” Ulrich said. The boxes are “given unconditionally.”
Few teachers want to speak out against their union, for fear of repercussion, but cooler heads must prevail, according to some people who spoke anonymously. One teacher agreed to speak solely about the program. Woodlands home economics teacher Jan Durvis explained that she and her coworkers are not teaching religion in school.
“The shoe-box project, among many that students do, is a voluntary project that has a lot of meaning in schools,” she said. “It needs to be stressed that it is not a classroom teaching tool. It is a voluntary project that stresses the importance of kindness and caring.”
And that settles it for Vancouver Sun columnist Don Cayo in the Financial Post.
But hold on!
“My problem with the shoeboxes is that they tap into a huge pool of goodwill — not to mention money — for minuscule return,” he says. “Samaritan’s Purse asks for $7 in cash with each shoebox, just to cover the cost of getting it to its destination. With 700,000 boxes donated annually in Canada, that’s $5 million. Not to mention the money spent on things to fill the boxes, or the hours to choose and wrap the little gifts inside.
“The appeal of the shoeboxes, of course, is the sense of involvement that it gives to the donors, especially children like the kids in Nanaimo. That’s important.
“But thoughtful charities have found ways to foster this, while still getting value for each dollar. Child sponsorship programs are perhaps the best-known examples. While they do drive up the overhead with the cost of one-to-one communications between donor and child, they are hugely effective in recruiting support.
“Many other groups now offer more cost-effective programs that still provide a sense of connection. You can buy, for example, a chicken or a goat for a needy family. Or you can personally support an entrepreneur with a micro-loan. Or pay school fees. And on, and on.
“So I think schools can work with people of any faith – or no faith at all – as long as the goal is charity, not conversion. But they should also be teaching their students to give with their heads as well as their hearts.”
Meanwhile, the Nanaimo District Teachers’ Association is generously allowing schools to continue participating until (and if) policies change, says the Times Columnist.
News Bulletin – Christmas challenge aids children, November 10, 2008
Times Columnist – Nanaimo teachers take on religion, December 4, 2008
Vancouver Sun – Christian charity is fine – as long as it’s efficient, December 16, 2008
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December 16th, 2008 at 9:55 am
as long as ALL proceeds go to children in other countries then let them have their fun and cheer
… but if one penny goes to church or someone’s pocket then shut ‘em down, and quick
December 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
It is true that many of these evangelical “Churchs” are pretty fanatical and in many ways look and act a little bit like cults trying to tell others people how to conduct their lives and what to believe in.
However when they try to do something good we should leave them alone.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Much as I support the idea of charitable acts directed to those less fortunate, I think this program is a bad idea. The separation of Church and State is more important than helping a dubious charity. As soon as we start allowing Evangelical churches a foothold in our schools, we’ll be as bad as the US.
If you want to donate to a registered charity, please do. Donate as much as you can and as often as you can afford to, just don’t bring religion in any form in to our schools. We’re not all Christians and we don’t want Christian agendas shoved down our throats.
December 16th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
While I am not too keen with charitable events (due to organizations that work to make money off of other people’s charity), as long as the event is legit, and the children can choose whether or not they want to be a part of it- not pressured into to it, I feel that these events can be very beneficial to the children in poverty stricken countries.
I do, however, feel sad when people feel that they must block and destroy any form of good-will towards others, because it “may” have religious connections. Basically, the religion that rears it’s ugly head in this case was that of “agnosticism” or people of the anti-religion faith. People like this are quick to say “don’t force your religion on me”, yet when people try to practice what they believe, they are met with intolerance.
Really, think about it. How many kids are going to be “brainwashed” by the Christian faith, just because they get a box of toys during the Christmas season? And would it be any different if the presents came during a period of good faith from other religions? I don’t think it would. It would be one thing if the teachers were sending “good will” packages any other time of the year, on their own accord, but as far as we know, they didn’t. I think that this is just an excuse for teachers to not wanting to have to bother with the hassle (of collecting the presents and explaining the situation to parents).
Just my two cents
January 12th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Can it make sense to look at the amount of good, the degree of charity, an action results in as opposed to where it originates? Someone once told me to look only at what the end result of an action is rather than questioning the motivation. And even if we were to know the motivation and come to realize that we don’t share it, does it necessarily mean that the amount of good done still doesn’t outweigh the intention? It may not…but yet then again it may.
This isn’t to say that we don’t have the right to know exactly where our charitable donations go and exactly how they’ll be used. We do. But perhaps it doesn’t need to go much further.
A former teacher…