Ottawa high school students recognized for campaign against gun violence

A group of Kanata high school students will be receiving a donation from a non-profit dedicated to gang prevention and youth safety.

A group of students at a Kanata high school is being recognized and will be receiving a financial donation from a non-profit organization dedicated to gang prevention and youth safety.

The Organization for National Gang Information & Awareness (ONGIA) is donating $5,000 to an initiative at Holy Trinity High School that is seeking to eliminate gun violence following death of former schoolmate.

The student-led campaign “289 to Zero,” aims to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGCO) to support youth programs and take a stand against gun violence.

The students created the campaign to honour Quentin Dorsainvil, a former Holy Trinity High School student who was killed in a Centretown shooting last fall.

CTV News first reported on the student-led campaign in February.

“I wanted to try to raise awareness about gun violence, (and) show that it’s an issue, especially in Canada, and how that it’s affecting the youth, people in our community, and to try to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club,” said student Jacob Lalonde.

For him, preventing gun violence is personal.

“Someone who I’ve played football with for half my life was a tragic victim of gun violence,” Lalonde said.

The students have been creating and selling bracelets and hoodies to promote their cause.

“They developed a business from the ground up. So, they decided what the cause would be, what their charity of choice would be,” said teacher Carolyn Hopewell.

“They’ve surpassed their goals, and they’re not going to stop. They want to keep going.”

The initiative aimed to raise $5,000. Prior to Wednesday’s donation, they had nearly reached that goal, raising $4,800. The $5,000 boost from the ONGIA now has them approaching $10,000.

“This is something unique, This is something that is going to pay it forward,” said ONGIA president Andrew Hammond.

“To have these friends and classmates band together to do something and turn that negative into a positive, we’re we’re fully behind them.”

The project is part of a social entrepreneurship program.

“Often, people want to react to a tragedy by taking action. And these students have done that,” said Hopewell.

Students designed the merchandise and the brand 289 to Zero.

“It signifies how 289 Canadians passed away due to gun violence in 2023. And our goal is to bring that down to zero,” said student Justin-Peter Ammar.

Profits from the project are going to the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.

“We can make a change and help the world for the better by stopping gun violence and saving lives,” said Luisa Santos, another student involved in the project.