The smell of pancakes filled the hallways of Westmount Elementary School as a community service organization hosted a breakfast for hundreds of hungry students and staff.
The Friendly City Optimists of Moose Jaw kicked off its sixth year of providing pancake breakfasts for schools by cooking up more than 1,600 flapjacks on Feb. 26 for the Westmount community. Each year the organization picks a public and Catholic school in which to hold its pancake breakfast. Westmount and St. Margaret School are the two recipients this year, with the Optimists to visit the Catholic school on March 17.
Nearly 400 staff and students at Westmount were able to partake in pancakes, sausages, oranges and juice during the breakfast, while nearly 300 people will likely be fed at St. Margaret.
The Optimists were able to acquire additional support from the community that allowed them to host the breakfasts, explained breakfast chairwoman Ellen Sjoberg. Smitty’s donated enough pancake mix for the service club to cook more than 50 pans of batter, while podiatrist Dr. Ata Stationwala donated $300 since an Optimist member is his patient and he thought the group does good work.
“Our motto is ‘Friend of Youth,’” Sjoberg continued. By supporting youth-focused projects, young people know the organization is on their side and builds confidence in them.
Developing camaraderie with other Optimist members and seeing the happy faces of kids are two things that Sjoberg said she enjoys about being an Optimist and the projects it pursues.
The pancake breakfast is a fantastic opportunity for students and the community to come together to share a meal, said principal Amanda Olson. It also develops a sense of community in the building.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” she continued. “It fuels their brains to get going and (is) best for learning. It helps them focus (on school and) not (be) focused on being hungry.”
There are some students who come to school hungry, so the school has some food available it can provide, such as toast, muffins, fruit or vegetables. However, the school does not have a formal or official breakfast program.
Olson was excited when the Optimists approached the school wanting to host its annual pancake breakfast. She thought holding the breakfast on Feb. 26 was great since that day was also the kick off for the Pink Shirt anti-bullying campaign that teaches students to be kind.
More information about the Optimists can be found at https://moosejawoptimistclub.wordpress.com.
