By Dan White – Special to the Sydenham Current
Happy Holidays!
As I write this, it is one week before Christmas, but this will be distributed closer to the big day. By now, all of the Christmas activities have wrapped up, performing artists have gone home to slip into something comfortable like a well-deserved coma after the hectic weeks leading to Christmas.
A friend of ours, Chitra Dath, who is a former student at SCITS, then colleague and is still teaching music in Sarnia, was telling us a few days ago at a social function that she had her bands out for 18 performances this December. Eighteen!!! She was understandably exhausted at the gathering, but that is the life of a musician and a music teacher who cares passionately about her students, her program, her school, and her community, and understands what music brings to the lives of not just the audience, but students who have the opportunity to learn and grow in a performing art—or, to be fair, in any of the arts.
We meet with Chitra often and hear about her program and how things are at GLSS—the offspring of the amalgamation of SCITS and St. Clair. While, like most educators, she often has fun and heartwarming stories, she has recently been telling us of a tale that is much less cheery.
Chitra keeps a stock of granola bars and healthy, quick snack foods in her room because she has witnessed a significant increase in food insecurity with her students in recent years. This woman is one of the best in education. She goes way beyond the easiest call of her profession and is totally invested in seeing every student she has the honor of working with thrive. So, if she sees a need for food, she will go out and get it for them.
I spoke with local trustee Janet Barnes and WDSS principal Jeremy Gower, and both noted that food insecurity has become a significant issue across Sarnia-Lambton and CK.
I was informed that the Ford Government slashed funding to breakfast programs from $10,000 annually to $1,000 this past year. That 90% cut left essential programs to children from families who may be struggling to make ends meet, with little or nothing to start their day. There have been endless studies observing that an empty belly makes it difficult for a brain to process new information.
Jeremy noted that Helping Hands, the organization that prepares breakfast at WDSS, has been challenged to make ends meet. He noted that, on average, 150 students go through that room daily at WDSS. That’s almost a quarter of the 700-student population, and the food is all being eaten.
This Christmas, I would urge you to consider this: if you are able, contact a local school administrator and see how you can donate. Whether they have a school-run program as we did at SCITS or a community-minded organization that ensures students have the opportunity to start their day with something to eat—please consider helping if you can. $5 goes a long way when coupled with many others and purchased in bulk.
I realize that this is not much of an arts column this week, and trust me, there are lots of things to write about, but sometimes even the arts need to take a back seat in my world.
Last thought… The CK Arts and Culture Network is hiring an ED. Information is on our Facebook page—this is an exciting leap forward for this progressive, passionate organization that supports arts and artists across C-K.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Joni, Oliver, Gracie, and I wish you a very happy 2025.
