Andrea Klassen's Grade Five Class at Arthur Meighen School knew they wanted to do some good, and some good they did!

The students came up with a special Candy Cane Message Campaign and raised $191.40 for the Portage Animal Welfare Society.

Klassen says the kids spent a lot of time during the month of December coming up with the fundraising strategy, as they wanted to do something special right before Christmas.

"We went through a big process. They actually started with a list of about twenty different possible charitable organizations or causes that we could help," says Klassen. "They eventually, through a big process of some paragraph writing, and convincing each other, narrowed it down to PAWS."

She says once they made the decision, they went to work immediately.

"They spent two days setting up and selling messages to the other students in the school," says Klassen. "Then we spent a couple of days assembling our candy cane messages which were attaching a little note and we made the candy canes look like little reindeer with googly eyes and pom-pom noses."

She says they spent another day delivering the messages.

Reflecting on the project, she couldn't be more proud of her students and the work they put in.

"They did all the advertising, they made posters," says Klassen. "They were able to raise just over $190 to donate to PAWS."

PAWS Inc. says they are dedicated to improving the quality of life of stray and abandoned companion animals in the city and the R.M of Portage la Prairie. You can read more about what they do at their website here.

Making the candy cane messages: