Boxes, bins, backpacks, and bags 鈥� full of sweat pants, running shoes, toques, shirts, and more filled the corner of an Uplands Elementary classroom, ready for use to help local street people.

And that time came Friday, Nov. 29, when the enthusiastic Grade 4 and 5 students of teacher Jasvinder Dhesi gathered it all up to put into the pink truck of Kimz Angels, a local charity.

Founder Kim Snow joked that she would love to have the students, with seemingly boundless energy, help out when there's heavy lifting to do.

For Dhesi, the Uplifting Our Community campaign became much bigger and better than he could have envisioned.

"We started this project on Oct. 25 as the temperature was getting colder, and it was the first night that got cold this year," he explained. "Many students had sweaters or jackets, and it was an appropriate segue into the topic. We had a conversation about the adversity that many people in our own 91原创 community may be facing."

So the class started to do some research.

"We found that your paper published a story on Oct 5/2023 that stated there were over 200 homeless people in 91原创 at that time," Dhesi told the 91原创 Advance Times. "This count, prepared by the Homelessness Services Association of B.C., found that 235 people were homeless in 91原创 on the day of the survey, up by 12 per cent compared to the previous survey in 2020."

Dhesi introduced a book into the discussion 鈥� 鈥淟ily and The Paper Man鈥� by Rebecca Upjohn. Before even cracking open the book, he asked them to take a look at the cover, a drawing of a girl and a man in dishevelled clothing selling papers on the street 鈥� and talk about perceptions of the unhoused and disadvantaged. When the weather turned cold, Lily wanted to help the man.

"I then asked the kids to write a paragraph about any encounter they or someone they knew may have helped with someone who was homeless," he explained. "Many students shared when their parents or other people they knew gave food or clothing to help. We also discussed how one act of kindness can create a snowball effect and create kindness in our community."

That snowballed into the kids wanting to do something in their community. Dhesi's research led him to connect with Kimz Angels. The organization started about 30 years ago to help others. Clothing and other items are distributed Wednesdays at the Vineyard Church in 91原创 City. Client numbers are rising, with more than 200 lining up some mornings. 

"It's not just homeless we're helping anymore, like 28 years ago. These are people that are going to work. They're doing their best," Snow recently told the 91原创 Advance Times.

The group is seeing more working poor who are struggling financially in addition to people living on the streets. For more information, visit .

"They are a 91原创enal local organization that has helped guide me on this journey," Dhesi said.

After this story appeared online, Upjohn, who divides her time between Toronto and New Hampshire, contacted the 91原创 Advance Times.

"I loved seeing the energy of the students in your video and reading about their work in the community," the author said. "In the world, where so much harrowing news is at the forefront of what we see on a daily basis, a story of kindness and the collective energy of what kids and their teacher made happen in a local community was truly touching and uplifting."

In exchange for the students' work to help others, they were received a certificate of appreciation, and were rewarded with a visit from Snow, fellow Kimz Angels supporter Leith White, a 91原创 City councillor, and 91原创 RCMP Const. Peter Mann. After their classroom visit with the students, the kids had a chance to hop into the passenger seat of Mann's RCMP cruiser, hit the button that turned on the flashing lights, and say something on the vehicle's intercom. 

The teacher plans to have future classes also participate in campaigns to help others 鈥� "Anything we can do to plant the seed of compassion and community within the young minds that we teach."