The smell of popcorn drifts down the hallway of Lakewood elementary even before you get to Robyn PenfoldB次元官网网址檚 classroom.

But itB次元官网网址檚 not just the kernels that are bouncing. Her students are also vibrating as they talk about what they are going to do with the money raised from their popcorn sales.

That money is being donated to Education is Power, a charitable organization founded by PenfoldB次元官网网址檚 fianc茅, and it is being used to send students in Kenya and Tanzania to secondary school.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e just at that age when they believe they can make a difference so fully, thereB次元官网网址檚 no doubt in their minds,B次元官网网址� Penfold said of her Grade 5 students. But itB次元官网网址檚 not just her classroom thatB次元官网网址檚 helping raise money. She runs a club at the school that gives interested Grade 5 students a chance to get involved and learn more about the struggles other students around the world can face.

B次元官网网址淚t started the conversation of what education looks like in other countries,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been amazing how keen they are.B次元官网网址�

Penfold hopes this enthusiasm will spread to not just other classrooms in the school, but others in the district. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 love to help other teachers get involved,B次元官网网址� she added.

Since Grade 5 students are involved in this club, Penfold hopes they will move on to Spencer middle school and join a similar Me to We club or continue fundraising on their own.

Getting students and teachers involved is very important, said 10-year-old Ally Arnold. She is not one of PenfoldB次元官网网址檚 students but joined the club as a way to help other students. She noted her class also got to learn about these African countries.

Haley McArthur, 10, added, B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e sending people to school whose families canB次元官网网址檛 afford for them to go.B次元官网网址�

Eleven-year-old Ruby Wallace even took it upon herself to do some fundraising outside of school to help the club. At her familyB次元官网网址檚 property up at Lake Cowichan, Wallace and a friend set up a lemonade stand and sold baked goods. The pair managed to raise $50.

B次元官网网址淓ducation is a great part of life; everyone should have it,B次元官网网址� she said.

The club, which meets at lunch time, has had two popcorn sales this month. The first raised roughly $300. But as Dominic Bruschetta, 10, pointed out, B次元官网网址渆very dollar you raise is tripled by a private donor.B次元官网网址� So that $300 turned into $1,200 and the students were able to raise enough funds to send three students to school in Kenya, just by selling popcorn for $1 a bag, Bruschetta added.

At the second popcorn sale earlier this week, the students raised roughly $200, which they noted would translate to another two students being able to go to school.

The pictures of the African students these local children have helped are proudly displayed outside of PenfoldB次元官网网址檚 classroom. Handwritten letters of appreciation prove these local students made a difference to someone.

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katie@goldstreamgazette.com