Operation Christmas hand delivers donations to Salvation Army at -30C

You’re listening to Medicine Stories on CKLB Radio 101.9, the Voice of Denendeh. I’m your host, Cassandra Blondin Burt, and tonight we hear from staff and volunteers of École St. Patrick High School, led by the High School’s Interact Club rolled out Operation Christmas 2025.

Operation Christmas is an annual food drive in support of the NWT Salvation Army — and for just about an hour, starting around 11 am hundreds of staff, volunteers and students formed a human chain passing food donations collected by students from St Patrick’s high school down the hill to the Salvation Army.

Cassandra Blondin Burt: So you guys do this every year?

Teacher Jacqueline Stanbridge: “Every year, absolutely every year.

CBB: And tell me about what did we just see the whole of Franklin Avenue here was shut down. My bosses came in. They’re like, ‘Who knows what’s going on?

Stanbridge: “So, St Patrick’s High School community has done this … believe it’s been over 20 years supporting Salvation Army. We do a lot of joint projects with them throughout the year, as well supporting them through canned food items, non perishables. Sometimes it’s financial donations. We also do trick or treat in the in October, Halloween season, and collect the same kind of items, but not as large.

“This year all of our classrooms — we have 581 kids — and they were all to fill hampers for a family, so all of our first-period classes, they bring it throughout the month of December. And we donated this. And then we were also able to make a cash donation too to Salvation Army to support families that might be within our school community, but largely Yellowknife, and we run it through our Interact Club, which is a part of Rotary.

“And the whole kind of mission behind Rotary is ‘service above self.’ I really think these are the things that make our community stand out in a lot of ways, and and a school, for sure, it’s a place of learning, but there’s so much more happening within those walls. And I think this is just a reminder of what that is, and really what Christmas is. So, so thankful to be a part of that community, for sure, absolutely.

CBB: “And that was a literal human chain, literally, yes, all the students from the
school

Stanbridge: “So yeah, and we have staff members on the inside making hot chocolate and snacks for the kids to come in and warm up. We have people getting gloves to the kids. So it’s a whole it’s really a full school community. We had our board office team here, our superintendent, we had our principal. Yeah, we’re just so, so lucky.

“It’s student led, like the kids they did all of the posters, all of the collection, all of the bringing in, we just kind of make sure the logistical things are here. So very nice.

CBB: “And last question, estimation, how many pounds of food do you think you brought in?

Stanbridge: “Well, when we started in the gym this morning, somebody said there was 70 boxes. I think we I’m my guess is about 150
boxes of food. Yes, amazing, yeah, amazing.

CBB: “That’s a lot of peanut butter.

Stanbridge: “It is.”