October 1, 2022

“I walked out of the library and there were like a thousand people crowding around the tables, and I was so stressed, but also happy at the same time,” Moh, a co-president of DSU at Nepean High School, recounted.

DSU and Youth in Action collaborated to organize a bake sale on September 29th with 100% of the proceeds going towards the Assembly of Seven Generations (A7G).

$415 was raised, and all the money is going towards this empowering program. The A7G is a non-profit, Indigenous organization, centered around Indigenous youth. They are dedicated to encouraging cultural diversity within communities by keeping Indigenous culture and traditions alive. On their website (https://www.a7g.ca/) you can learn about all of their significant initiatives, such as language revitalization and mental health support programs.

Moh expressed, “I’m just so thankful for everyone who could participate and contribute to such an awesome charity, especially the day before National Truth and Reconciliation Day. It means so much to not just Nepean High School, but also for Indigenous youth and indigenous survivors.”

There was a wide assortment of baked goods to choose from, all generously prepared by students at Nepean High School in DSU and Youth in Action. There were also treats donated by local businesses, such as Mavericks Donuts.

Mme Samuels was also selling leftover orange shirts from the T-shirt project that was taken on by the NAC2O class of last year. The goal of the project was to have an orange shirt that would be created, led and produced by Indigenous Peoples. “They worked with Patrick Tenascon, an Algonquin Anishinaabe from Kitigan Zibi, Pam Meness, the owner of the Kitigan Zibi based printing company Diamond Printing Creations, and Tony Quedent, an Ojibway residential “school” survivor,” an excerpt from an article written by Ella Zubec (“Behind the Scenes of the NAC2O’s T-shirt Project,” on the Knightwatch website archive).

The T-shirt sale provided another opportunity for students to buy an orange shirt to honour those who never returned home from residential “schools” and those affected by them (survivors, Indigenous families and communities) on Orange Shirt Day.

Overall, the bake sale was a success and raised lots of money for the Assembly of Seven Generations. For all of those who helped with or attended the bake sale, Moh’s message is, “I know that you spent your hard earned money on certain baked goods and everything. It's going to a good cause, we promise, and we hope that you can continue contributing to many fundraisers at Nepean, especially to ones that help charities like A7G.” Thank you to everyone who attended the bake sale and if you could not make it this time, there will be many more events to come, check out the clubs’ Instagrams for more information about Nepean High School events. We hope to see you at the next one!