The fifth annual Herons Crossing School Christmas Market will offer an opportunity to get a bit of holiday shopping done early while supporting local students.
“It’s a great thing to come and support the kids of the community of Airdrie, and to help them get the equipment they need and also show the kids and the local vendors support this holiday season,” said Yvonne Walker, fundraising chair with Friends of Herons Crossing.
Friends of Herons Crossing is the school’s fundraising society, which generates dollars to meet various needs at the school. In the past, Walker said, the society has helped raise money for the school’s playground, books and laptops.
This year, the market will serve as a fundraiser, with proceeds going towards buying outdoor equipment for the school, such as basketball hoops, benches and outdoor games.
“Any money that we do have left over, we would put towards anything that the school feels that they need,” Walker said. “Right now, they feel technology is also something that we’re needing to upgrade in the school.”
Money for the school is raised through table fees paid by the market’s 35 vendors, Walker said, as well as a bake sale, raffle and donations at the door.
Vendors will be set up in the school’s two gymnasiums from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 22 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 23. The majority of the vendors, Walker said, are home-based businesses that will sell handmade items, along with a handful of vendors offering direct-sale items like makeup.
The market will also feature food trucks, face painting and photos with Santa.
Fifteen of the school’s classrooms have also made craft items that will be sold, Walker said, with proceeds supporting causes around Airdrie – one classroom will raise money to hold a Christmas party for the residents at Bethany Care Centre, and another will use funds to organize a new recycling program for the school.
As a parent of a student at the school, Walker said participation in the fundraiser teaches philanthropy, and she added one of the reasons she started the market was to “try and get the kids involved in the fundraising aspect.”
“I think it shows the kids that not everything is just given to everybody, and people have to work hard,” she said. “[It shows] that we need to help out our community and help each other as much as we can, and always lend a helping hand where we can.”
In the past, the market has been both a successful event and a successful fundraiser, Walker said. In 2018, approximately 1,000 attended the market over its two-day run, and raised close to $5,000 for the school.
“That’s why the school wants us to keep going with it,” Walker said. “It’s great for the community, it’s great for the kids, for our young entrepreneurs, so they’d like to see that continue.”
