Kids helping other children is the thrust of a charitable endeavour being spearheaded by some local high school students. For Kids From Kids is a project that collects backpacks and school supplies to help children have a better experience at school by providing them with materials they need. Shasni Pathirana, a Grade 11 student who is vice-president of student voice at Burlington Central High School, has been working on the project since last year. “I was inspired by other children who have taken on other projects to help many kids. I thought, ‘If they can do something, why can’t I?’” She was provoked to action by a personal experience overseas. In March 2015 she saw how some children in Sri Lanka don’t have the necessary supplies to go to school. “One experience in particular made me truly grateful for all that my parents had done to allow me to have the chance and opportunity to go to school,” said Pathirana. “A boy around my age came up to my dad and I begging for food. It was devastating to see a child my age, not in school and in need of so much. I wanted to help children have a chance just like the one that my parents gave me. “What we did for that boy was that since it was the last couple of days that we were in Sri Lanka we gave him extra money and bought him some food for him and his family.” Pathirana’s For Kids From Kids will offer school supplies to children who live in impoverished communities in Sri Lanka. Besides backpacks and school supplies, the Baldwin Street school’s students are collecting gently-used athletic wear like soccer cleats, soccer balls and basketballs. The public can drop off items at Burlington Central High School’s main office, between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. The deadline to receive supplies is Friday, April 29. Courtesy of http://www.insidehalton.com