The Airdrie Knights of Columbus have brought back their Keep Christ in Christmas competition, which tasks Airdrie students with designing themed Christmas cards.
The competition winners’ cards are then sold to support local charities, according to Wayne MacGillivary, a member of the Airdrie Knights of Columbus. Winners are selected for participants in three separate age groups including kindergarten to Grade 2, Grades 3 to 5, and Grades 6 to 8.
“We would also select entries from kindergarten to Grade 12, but for judging purposes, we would break them down in those categories,” he said.
According to MacGillivary, each submission should aim to stay with the theme of “Keeping Christ in Christmas,” but he added there is still creative freedom for anyone who may be interested in taking part.
Submissions will be accepted until Dec. 17, after which the posters will be judged, and the winners will be chosen in late January 2022.
“Then what we do is have the winners’ cards professionally printed, add a message from our parish priest, along with a picture and credit to the student artist as well,” he said. “We make packages with 10 in each, which are sold as a part of a fundraiser.”
Looking back at previous years, MacGillivary said the initiative usually raises around $1,000 per year, which the Knights of Columbus have used to support local organizations like the Airdrie Food Bank, Airdrie and District Hospice Society, and Airdrie P.O.W.E.R.
MacGillivary said during the competition’s first year, around 400 packages were printed. This year, he said that number will be lower to ensure everything that is printed can be sold.
“If we sell all of the 100 we’ll have printed, that will make about $1,200, which will go back into charities we support,” he said. “Hopefully the schools, but I am not sure about that.”
An important part of what MacGillivary and the Knights of Columbus want to teach kids is that there can be a lot more that goes into the Christmas season than just getting gifts, such as being charitable and helping those in need.
“It’s teaching kids that there are other ways to celebrate Christmas,” he said. “That is the idea behind this. It’s not all about everybody getting gifts, it’s about everybody as a family and how they can help others.”
Interested school students can get involved by submitting cards through their schools or dropping them off at St. Paul’s Parish, where the Knights of Columbus can collect them.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @jaystrickz
