Making Connections by “Sending Sunshine”

Sending Sunshine, one of this year’s Round Square initiatives, was named after a non-profit Canadian charity. Many talented and thoughtful Senior School students took time out of their busy schedules to come by the Gudewill Learning Commons to design and decorate colourful and fantastic cards to send to enrich the lives of lonely seniors. Every day, the Learning Commons was filled with students laughing and discussing how best to decorate their card: with colourful markers, glittery things and more.

The initiative was also successful as it encouraged many students to gather during lunchtime to write thoughtful cards to send to the charity while providing a good opportunity for students to socialize and catch up with friends while doing a good deed. It was a fantastic way to earn some extra service in a fun way by helping those in the community. “It’s a creative opportunity that contributes to a great cause helping the 30% of seniors that are isolated,” said Reese Suntok ’26, the chair of the Round Square committee leading this initiative.

“We wanted to help Sending Sunshine by creating cards of our own and ultimately increase our school’s global engagement,” said Reese when asked what she was hoping to accomplish through this project.

Reese had some good advice for others planning this kind of undertaking, “It’s always important to have a back-up plan!”

Due to the Canada Post mail strike, the committee had to come up with a different method to deliver the cards to the intended recipients. ”In case this strike does negatively impact sending the cards, we will be giving them to local senior care facilities,” she explained. Although the cards may not end up at the Sending Sunshine charity, the cards will still brighten the day of a senior at a local care facility.

For the past two weeks, students and teachers have also been donating lightly worn clothing for another Round Square undertaking. Next week, on Wednesday, December 4, the GNS CAN (Climate Action Now) and Round Square will host a clothing swap from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Gudewill Learning Commons. Students should drop by for a chance to go thrifting.