Halifax university students give back to mark 75 years since devastating fire

75 years after the fire that destroyed Mount Saint Vincent University, students volunteer in the community to pay forward the help received in 1951.

Armed with blue rubber gloves, Max King and some fellow Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) students carefully trim and rescue perfectly good lettuce to donate to those in need.

Nearly a dozen MSVU students have teamed up to volunteer some time at the Parker Street Food Bank in Halifax’s north end.

On Jan. 31, MSVU will mark an anniversary of a fire that destroyed the original campus building – a towering Victorian facility which overlooked the Bedford Basin – 75 years ago.

On the last Wednesday of January, the school marks the day with service. It’s known as Caritas Day.

“They’ve got me on lettuce duty,” said King. “We’re taking off all the bad parts, saving what we can and giving it out to people.”

Students from MSVU’s Business and Tourism programs spent Caritas Day volunteering at the Parker Street Food Bank, sorting food, preparing and packing vegetables, and sorting packages of toys for children who need a little extra joy.

“We just wanted to come in and help out for the day,” said student Justin Grant. “We had the day off from school, so we might as well do something good.”

Grant and fellow student Micah Anderson, who both play for the varsity basketball teams, sorted toys by age group to ensure they reach the right children.

“We’re just getting the toys together and sorting them into the right age groups to make sure they go out to kids in need,” said Anderson.

The fire that burned the original campus displaced more than 400 students, faculty and Sisters of Charity Halifax. No one was injured, but valuable artifacts were lost.

“The building that burned down was where education was happening and where students were living,” said Paulette Cormier-MacBurnie, a tourism and hospitality professor at MSVU. “The community really rallied together and helped everyone involved. The Mount has had a day for many years where we give back to the community in honour of that.”

At the Parker Street Food Bank, the help is greatly appreciated.

“Without volunteer groups like this, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” said Shelley Rose, director of operations. “We have a small staff that works incredibly hard, but volunteers really are the driving force.”

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