Pauline Savage has been working as a Breakfast Club volunteer at Heritage Elementary School in Huntingdon for 11 years.
She says she volunteers to ensure that every student has a healthy and nutritious breakfast to start their day.
Pauline decided to volunteer and help at the school due to the many memories she has of attending classes at the school when she was young; several of her family members did as well.
When Pauline first started volunteering, she worked with a team of seven. She is the only one from that group still volunteering. “I want every child to have a chance to get food that they don’t have at home. So, they come here, and we give them breakfast,” she says.
“It is important to me because I can sleep and it’s nice to get to school and have a delicious breakfast,” says one Grade 6 student. “Without Breakfast Club, we would probably be hungry and grumpy,” adds a Grade 5 student.
Each morning, Pauline prepares at least 14 bins full of different varieties of foods for around 235 students.
The program was adapted earlier this year so that students could eat in the classroom instead of coming to the cafeteria each morning. Teacher Jenni-Lee Bedard says the staff have adapted and everyone just has a slower start in the morning. “Then we can be sure, as teachers, that the students are eating right and that they are getting everything they need,” she adds.
Ms. Jenni-Lee has been coordinating the Breakfast Club program for two years, with a few other volunteers. She says that Pauline is the real boss. “She is crucial, and honestly, she has missed one day this year,” she explains, noting that it was for an appointment.
Volunteering is very important to the school. “If we didn’t have volunteers to help, we wouldn’t have any extracurricular activities, like breakfast in the morning. We wouldn’t have our dances, we wouldn’t have our fun trip, or end-of-year activities,” Ms. Jenni-Lee explains. “We need more and more volunteers, especially as our school grows,” she adds.