Blog Elements - Breakfast Club of Canada

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Grandma Power!

“Mamou Joanne, guess what? It’s my birthday today!” Behind the counter, the volunteer smiled, turned around to grab a carrot muffin baked specially for the occasion and handed it to the beaming birthday boy, who was tickled pink that Mamou Joanne remembered. It was just another morning for the grandmother/volunteer but one where she […]

In the Club

Inspiring Stories!

From coast to coast, in every province and territory, dedicated parents, volunteers, and school staff get up early each morning to make a huge impact in the day of these students by providing them with equal opportunities to succeed. The following stories are just a few of the wonderful testimonials to the power of […]

In the Club

Grandma Power!

In the Club

Inspiring Stories!

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In the Club

Grandma Power!

“Mamou Joanne, guess what? It’s my birthday today!”

Behind the counter, the volunteer smiled, turned around to grab a carrot muffin baked specially for the occasion and handed it to the beaming birthday boy, who was tickled pink that Mamou Joanne remembered.

It was just another morning for the grandmother/volunteer but one where she made yet another child feel important.

Mamou Joanne, aka Joanne Morin, has been volunteering with the breakfast program at Lionel-Groulx School for a year now and has been the site coordinator since the start of the school year. Giving back to the community is a long, proud tradition for Joanne and her children. (As you know, volunteering knows no age limit at the Club!) Lionel-Groulx School is actually where the whole Breakfast Club of Canada adventure began 25 years ago. And if anyone is going to celebrate this milestone anniversary, it’s certainly going to be Joanne!

When she talks about her experience as a volunteer, the joy she feels at being a part of school life and the broader community shines through. In addition to her duties at the Club, she is also involved in several other local organizations. Now that’s someone with tons of energy and spirit to burn. Quite the inspiration, our Mamou Joanne!

Before she retired, she worked as a cook, making her the perfect choice for this assignment, which means the world to her. Plus, she lives right across the street from the school, so all she has to do is take a few steps and she’s there to welcome the morning crowd. Her daughter often comes in to help because, after all, the Club is a family affair! By 9 a.m., Joanne goes back to her house for a nap and then gets lunch ready for her grandchildren and a few of their friends, whenever their parents need a helping hand. It’s like a mini-Club right in her kitchen!

Every day, Joanne has a front-row seat to see students’ joyful reactions to getting together before classes begin in the morning. They talk (a lot!) and they laugh (a lot!) as they eat. “It’s such a lovely way to get the day started,” said Joanne. “And it makes life so much easier for parents. They know their kids are getting a good meal and don’t have to rush.”

Mamou Joanne is as much a part of the Lionel-Groulx School team as any of the teaching or support staff. Because she interacts with the kids a little differently, she can sometimes catch problems nobody else can. She can tell when something’s wrong – and she can refer children directly to a staff member as necessary. Joanne is there to listen to them, reassure them, explain things to them and encourage them to look at things from another angle – as only a grandma can. Which is why they all affectionately call her “Mamou.” They can tell that Mamou Joanne is there to watch out for them.

It looks like the old adage has proved true once again: it really does take a village to raise a child. Thank you, Mamou Joanne, for being part of our village!

In the Club

Inspiring Stories!

Emily, student, James Park Elementary School, British Columbia

Hi, my name’s Emily and I’m a Grade 5 student from British Columbia. My dad actually got me into Breakfast Club because he started volunteering, so I went with him and learned how to do all the cool things that the Breakfast Club needs. Like pouring water, making pizza buns… making all the things on the menu (laughs)! That was three years ago and I still volunteer every day because I love serving the other kids, and now my mom comes also so it’s my dad, my mom, and me, so it’s something fun we do as a family.

Lots of kids come with their families so it makes me really happy to see everyone enjoying the food. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of adults who used to be strangers, and now I also am friends with their kids because of that! Kids are getting to know each other better, and lots more people come to school early now so they can join the program, so it’s really fun. Sometime even the principal and teachers eat with us and that makes us happy. We get to know them in a different way and I’ve learned some things about the adults that I wouldn’t have learned if we just saw each other in class.

School Administrator, Johnny Therriault Memorial School, Aroland First Nation, Ontario

Our Breakfast program is as much about serving nutritious food as it is a social event. Without a doubt, our program improves the mental and psycho-social well-being of our students. From time to time we have new students in an unfamiliar school and community, and they are often very cautious, reluctant, shy and introverted. However, as these students begin to settle in, the breakfast program helps them form new friendships. One specific student who was a Tikinagan child, enrolled in our school in Grade 5. She was extremely shy and hardly spoke. She was very hesitant to participate in the breakfast program, fearful to even enter the gymnasium where the program takes place. After some support and words of encouragement from staff, she slowly started to come into the program, eat with her fellow classmates, smile and socialize. It was wonderful to see her smile, talking and socializing with her classmates after only two weeks of coming to our school.

Stéphanie Riedyk, Breakfast Program Supervisor, École La Mosaïque, Alberta

Our school is multicultural school, where students develop new tastes related to the Canada Food Guide. Parents really value what our program offers their kids. One father told me, “this program is a blessing for modest families like ours, who do not necessarily have the means to offer a complete meal to our children and especially the time necessary to do it early in the morning. We are infinitely grateful to you”. What we really love is when the children come to tell us after each breakfast “Mrs. Stephanie, I really liked this meal. Thank you very much, what are we eating tomorrow?” You can not know how happy I am to see the glowing eyes of these little children happy to have eaten well.

LaSalle Elementary Junior School, Quebec

Conversation with Mrs. Donna, Integration Aid

Donna: I go outside at recess with the kids and there’s this one little child who is always in trouble, never listens, you always hear his name being called to come here, stop that, or get down from there. Since stating breakfast late last year, that’s all stopped. Now he comes in, has his breakfast…he’s the happiest little boy.

Club: What do you think it is about breakfast club that helps him the most? The full belly? The social aspect?

Donna: A bit of both. And just having a calm moment to start the day, the calm music really helps. I am so happy with this child. What a good feeling – and what a good feeling for him.

Conversation Mrs. Julia, Teacher

Julia: I love volunteering at breakfast club because I get to interact with the kids so early in the morning. Some of them come in a bit sad so I make them happy by just talking to them.

Club: How is it different than in the classroom?

Julia: Because it’s one on one here. You’re not their teacher so you can have conversations and joke with them. Some of them just need a little hello to make their day and that’s important to me.

In fact, during the interview, Mrs Julia got to demonstrate this when a student came in and said he had put his tooth under his pillow last night, but the tooth fairy didn’t come. Mrs. Julia made a big deal of his missing tooth, congratulated him on losing it and made him feel special.

Conversation with the kids

Club: What’s your favorite thing you get at breakfast club?

Student: Bagels! When we first went in breakfast club our first day we saw bagels! Its soooooo good! I wish we had bagels everyday! (is tomorrow bagel day?)

Other students: Grilled cheese! We love grilled cheese!

Club: so this must be your favorite day!

Students: yes! It’s the best!

Club: I see there’s a lot of people working very hard to make your favorite breakfast!

Student: I was here this morning and I saw Mrs Donna make all this.

Club: I saw when you came in before you gave Mrs Donna a big hug? She’s special….

Student: I love her she’s my favorite! She used to be in my class last year.

Club: it must be fun that you get to have breakfast with her every day now!

Student: Yah!

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Grandma Power!

Inspiring Stories!

Grandma Power!

Inspiring Stories!

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Grandma Power!

Inspiring Stories!

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