Avalon Peninsula schools collect loonies for Fort McMurray fire victims

More than 30 schools on the Avalon peninsula are asking students to support the Fort McMurray fire relief efforts, according to a note sent home to parents whose children attend Waterford Valley High in St. John's.

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The note asks students to bring in $1 or $2 each day to their homeroom class, to be collected and donated to the Red Cross, one of the agencies leading the relief effort while fires continue to burn in northern Alberta.

The province's English school district confirmed a number of schools across the province are organizing fundraisers for the cause.

"We certainly support their efforts in providing assistance to those who truly need it," said the district's director of communications, Ken Morrissey, in an email.

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The federal government and the Alberta government have both pledged to match individual contributions to the Red Cross, which stands at roughly $60 million so far.