‘If you teach children to give back, then they will continue to do that as an adult,’ Fern Hill School founder Wendy Derrick says.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
The gift: Raising $500,000 and climbing
The causes: United Way and other charities
When Wendy Derrick decided to start a private school in Oakville, Ont., in 1982, she didn't want students to focus only on reading, writing and arithmetic. She wanted them to learn the meaning of giving back, too.
"If you teach children to give back, then they will continue to do that as an adult," Ms. Derrick said from her office at Fern Hill School. Ms. Derrick, a former physical education and English teacher, opened a second Fern Hill School in Burlington, Ont., in 1999.
Fundraising has become part of the curriculum at both elementary schools, and every year students raise about $50,000 through a series of events held mainly in the fall.
For the past 15 years, the bulk of the money went to the United Way. But this year, students have decided to focus on two local hospitals: Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington and the new Oakville Hospital. The schools have set a five-year goal of raising $100,000 for Joseph Brant and $250,000 for the Oakville Hospital.
"We will do it," Ms. Derrick, 70, said with confidence.
Fundraising is so engrained in the Fern Hill culture that "you can come and ask even the youngest child why they are raising money, and they'll say 'Because we are really lucky and there are people who need it,' " she added.
And for her there is a more personal reason: "There is always a need for someone to do something for somebody else."