Champion Project Recipients Fall 2023 

7 Grants

$13,489 Awarded

​3,932 Students/Community Members Impacted
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As one of the six Funds supported by the Foundation, it is our hope that our Champion Projects help the children and youth at ECS to: nurture their moral and spiritual development; develop their leadership and team-building skills; and to practice their Catholic social justice responsibilities.

Christ the King | Christ the King Feast Day

This project is a school-wide initiative aimed at fostering a sense of community. Students in Kindergarten to Grade 4 will spend the day crafting notes of kindness and appreciation for different members of the community, including cancer patients, the Edmonton Police, residents at a seniors home, and community firefighters. Students in grades 5-9 will participate in making bagged lunches for the less fortunate in the community, to be distributed by school staff. 

Our Lady of Victories | Indigenous Reconciliation Prayer Garden

The Indigenous Reconciliation Garden project will create a place for both students and community members to gather, pray, and reflect. The Garden will be built by students, with support from staff and parent volunteers. There will be a medicine wheel-shaped garden, along with a rosary rock path surrounded by benches. Through the construction and nurturing of the garden, students will become educated on traditional land-based practices, the meaning of the medicine wheel, the history of Indigenous people, and their role in the practice of reconciliation. ​

Joan Carr | Lifting Our Eyes and Soul to God

The goal of this project is to supply each classroom with visual and tangible symbols to better support the message that is taught in religious education. Classes will receive items such as table coverings of different liturgical colors to be changed by students in correspondence with the changing seasons of the Church, Advent wreaths and flameless candles, and crucifixes for each classroom wall. Grade 8 students will deliver these items to each classroom from Kindergarten to Grade 7, and will present to each class the significance of the items.

St. Benedict | St. Benedict Prayer and Mindfulness Club

The goal of this project is to provide students with the opportunity to practice mindfulness and prayer, teaching them how to self-regulate and community when they feel overwhelmed or need extra support. The funds will be used to purchase basic mindfulness tools, including weighted stuffed animals, mindfulness journals and coloring books, classroom fidgets, breathing beads, etc. Because of the school’s high FNMI population, St. Benedict’s Braided Journeys teacher will also incorporate some Indigenous practices and spirituality into the Prayer and Mindfulness Club.

St. Elizabeth Seton | Bridging the Generation Gap

The goal of this project is to develop friendship, empathy, and understanding between two different generations. Over the next 6 months, a class of Grade 4 students will visit a seniors home, visiting with residents, singing to them, and playing games with them. 
​“These generations rarely interact with each other and have so much to learn from one another. My students live in an area where opportunities like this rarely exist. The seniors we are visiting have family occasionally visit but their interaction with children in this capacity does not happen often.” - St. Elizabeth Seton Staff

St. Nicholas | Social Justice CTF Class​

Through this project, St. Nicholas’ social justice class will connect with the community around them through community outreach, education, advocacy, and direct support services. With their Champion Project grant, students will travel to a senior housing center, local food bank, nearby high-needs elementary schools, etc. 
“Our project is designed to introduce students to organizations in our city that provide community assistance. Each location holds new experiences for our students, allowing them the opportunity to help in various ways.” - St. Nicholas Staff

St. Matthew | St. Matthew Guardian Angels​​

Through this project, St. Matthew students in Grade 6 will buddy up with another class in the school to visit with seniors at St. Michael’s Millennium Pavilion. During these monthly visits, students will sing, play board games, color, and solve puzzles with the seniors. They will also share a treat and socialize with them at the end of each visit. The goal of this project is to help the students learn compassion and sensitivity, and increase their literacy and social skills.