Students in a North Delta Secondary leadership program are collecting non-perishable food items to support families in need in the school community.
Brandon’s All-Star Mentor (BAM) is holding its annual food drive and is asking for contributions of rice, table salt, flour, sugar, cereal, coffee, pasta, beans, tea, nut butters, lentils, canned meats and vegetables, diapers, baby formula and food, and women’s hygiene products.
Donations can be dropped off during school hours until Dec. 20.
BAM is named in honour of late NDSS Huskies basketball captain Brandon Bassi, a member of the school’s class of 2018, SFU student-athlete and Vancouver Whitecaps prospect who was killed in a car crash in 2019.
A few months after the start of the 2018/2019 school year, Bassi approached his former Huskies basketball coaches, teachers Jesse Hundal and Gary Sandhu, about starting a program to help Grade 7 students as they enter high school.
The October after Bassi’s death, they worked to create BAM with support from the Brandon Bassi Foundation — started by the Bassi family in Brandon’s memory — and then-NDSS principal Aaron Akune, and program mentors began working with students from Hellings, McCloskey and Richardson elementary schools at the start of 2020.
Through games and small group activities, the mentors offer guidance and connection to younger students, supporting them in their upcoming transition to high school. BAM also brings in guest speakers to provide guidance and motivation for both mentors and mentees.
— with files from Tavneet Jandu, special to the North Delta Reporter, and NDR staff
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