Chatham-Kent's first Syrian refugee family has received a month's worth of support, courtesy of Georges P. Vanier Catholic School.
The Chatham elementary school has raised $2,525 for the Alhajjeh family, which will help their sponsors support their rent, utility and living costs.
"We figure it's somewhere in that $2000 - $3000/month range," says sponsor rep Sister Eleanor Gleeson. "Especially when you consider their setup; they came with nothing. A lot of their furniture was donated but sometimes you have to top them off with something else."
Four Chatham parishes, St. Agnes, Blessed Sacrament, St. Joseph and St. Ursula, are privately sponsoring the family of seven.
The school's social justice club organized their Valentine's Day "candygrams" and March Read-a-thon to raise the money, which works out to be around $100 raised per student.
Georges P. Vanier administration adds it was the students themselves who chose the Syrian refugees as this year's charity recipients.