Toronto

Grade 1 students donate over 100 hand-knit scarves to Scarborough homeless shelter

Grade 1 students at Corvette Junior Public School made a special delivery to a Scarborough homeless shelter Tuesday to keep women in need warm during the holidays.

'To see these beautiful kids carrying gifts in, giving them something like a scarf, it makes a difference'

A class of Grade 1 students at Corvette Junior Public School donated more than 100 hand-knit scarves and neck warmers to a nearby homeless shelter in Scarborough to prevent users from 'freezing' over the holidays. (Talia Ricci/CBC)

Grade 1 students at Corvette Junior Public School made a special delivery to a Scarborough homeless shelter Tuesday to keep women in need warm during the holidays. 

Sanjay Ojjo's class dropped off more than 100 hand-knit scarves and neck warmers at Homes First Society.

Sanjay Ojjo's class walked to Homes First Society Tuesday with boxes of scarves and neck warmers in tow. (Mike Heenan/CBC)

"It was incredible because it was coming from five-year-olds and six-year-olds," said Ojjo, noting his students came up with the idea to make the outerwear essentials from a discussion about people who can't afford the proper gear to stay warm during the winter.

"For them to have that mentality, that idea in their head where they just want to help, I knew at that moment that I just wanted to do everything I could to facilitate that." 

Joshua McDermott lays out his scarves on a table for the women at Homes First Society. (Mike Heenan/CBC)

Students, along with a collection of parents, spent several months knitting the items — a process that Joshua McDermott's mother, Sam Rawit, said made her proud. 

"I'm so blessed and so proud of him," she told CBC Toronto. 

Rawit spent time in a women's shelter when her son was 11 months old. 

"To see these beautiful kids carrying gifts in, giving them something like a scarf, it makes a difference and I'm sure they're happy."  

With files from CBC's Talia Ricci