It’s time.
Time to show that all the times we say we care about the next generation, we aren’t just smoking platitudes. Out society likes to collectively treat kids like footballs. Whenever there’s a big political debate or another shouting match in our ongoing culture wars, one side of the argument loves to invoke the “collective good of our children,” to stake claim to the higher moral ground.
How many times have we watched the poor vilified by vested interests? How many times have we watched them demonize food stamps, school lunches and other forms of social assistance aimed at less fortunate kids? And how many times have we heard them justify this assault by claiming it’s some tough love to teach children there’s “no such thing as a free lunch.” A lesson children are supposed to learn on an empty stomach.
Every time a talking head or politician vomits the words “think of the children,” it’s so they can spit out some sound bite that serves whatever nonsense they’re pushing at that moment. They don’t really care about the children, but they do love using the most vulnerable members of society to further their agenda.
Remember when the debate over letting trans people use public restrooms for the gender they identify with became a global argument? Remember how the opponents of the idea screamed it was because they were protecting the children. It wasn’t about bigotry or discrimination or ideology, they insisted. It was all about preventing children from seeing the wrong things or being leered at or even being molested. Whatever it was the people on that side of the argument truly cared about, you can bet it wasn’t about any child anywhere.
If you need proof, ask yourself many times we’ve watched families torn apart and entire communities brought to their emotional knees after a madman has murdered scores of children within the walls of their school. Ask yourself how many times we’ve all said to ourselves that this time, this blood bath, would be the catalyst for change. How many times have we said to ourselves that this horror soaked with the fresh blood of children would mean something, anything, would finally be done. How many times have we said that only to watch the moment dissolve into hyperbole and pointless screaming while nothing changes yet again, inviting more carnage and terror.
We’re seeing it right now, with the already deep divisions in our society widening over vaccines and mask mandates. We’re watching violently angry mobs surrounding the cars of other parents in parking lots, screaming obscenities in the faces of doctors and nurses while threatening public servant’s lives over the idea of making kids wear masks to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. While those people will tell you they love their children, you have to wonder where that level of passion and commitment is the it comes to preventing school shootings or further budget cuts.
And that brings us to Indigo’s Adopt-A-School campaign that kicks off today. While Canada’s largest book store had to cancel this yearly program last year over concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s back this year. Every Indigo and Chapters has adopted an elementary school in it’s community that needs a helping hand to get some much needed books into it’s library. Until October 3rd, one hundred percent of every dollar donated to Indigo’s Love of Reading Foundation will go to that school’s library.
You’ll have two ways to help this year. Whenever you make a purchase, you can make a donation at the cash register. You can throw in an extra loonie or five dollar. You can even round up to the closest dollar, it’s up to you. But for the first time, Indigo will offer an online option that will allow you to donate to the store (and therefore school) of your choice.
And help is something schools will desperately need this year. Cutting money to education was already an Olympic sport in the halls of political power before any of us had even heard of COVID-19. Now, with budgets scaled to the bone you can bet schools will be an even bigger target. Ontario alone may cut over 1.6 billion dollars to education funding next year. That means fewer teachers, fewer librarians, fewer extracurricular activities and quite possibly fewer schools.
You can bet libraries will be the first casualty of the draconian cuts. Even in the best of times, schools were budgeted only one new book for every three or four students and two or three separate schools shared the same library tech. These are not the best of times.
Kristy Terry from St. Martin’s de Porres in Kanata (adopted by the Pinecrest Indigo location in Ottawa) admits that most of the funding for her library comes from the school’s annual Scholastic book fair. With numerous lockdowns and quarantines during the last sixteen months, you can bet that wasn’t an option last year. And it might not be this year either. She also reveals that her school lost over 400 books during the lockdowns, a hurdle nobody saw coming. With a student population of over 700 kids between kindergarten and grade 6, you can only imagine how much of an impact that loss has. Or how much dramatically reduced funding will as well.
Kristy and the staff at St. Martin’s pride themselves on their innovation and rising to the challenge. They’ve had to, especially during the last year and a half. But it is both reckless and historically irresponsible to expect any school to do it on their own. And increasingly, that’s what many of our political representatives seem to be asking.
So here’s your chance to help. We might all feel powerless when news of the latest school shooting or violence at a PTA meeting over masks hits the news. We might all feel powerless when we hear about politicians cutting unimaginable amounts of money to public education (this tale’s so common it isn’t even the lead story on the nightly news anymore). But there are ways we can help. This is one.
So here’s the chance to put your money where your mouth is. Kids are the most vulnerable, most powerless members of our society and this is our opportunity to help. And you can do it with the smallest gesture.
Kids can’t rely on politicians. They can’t rely on special interests or lobbyists. Sadly, they can’t always rely on their own parents. But here’s a chance to prove they can rely on the rest of us.
Let’s not waste it.
image via www.youtube.com
