Amber and Christina drop off their donations at Siloam Mission.

If kids like Amber and Christina from Winnipeg’s Voyageur School are any indication of the future, we are in good hands.

The two 10-year-olds recently set up a “Hope Tree” at their school to collect donations for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Winnipeg.

“We got a big branch from the forest, painted it white, and set it up in the middle of our school. Then we asked our friends to bring in donations and put them under the tree,” says Amber.

It didn’t take long before donated items started cluttering around the tree.

Last week, the two grade 5 girls dropped by Siloam Mission with their teacher and a pick-up truck loaded with their impressive haul.

“At first we thought we would only get a few donations,” says Christina. “But the whole school really started caring and soon we had boxes full of stuff.”

That stuff included socks, hats, mittens, scarves, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, shampoo and soap — all basic necessities that many people living on the streets can’t easily access otherwise.

“This whole experience felt so good,” says Amber. “It felt like we were helping a lot of people.”

Students from Voyageur School stand in front of the "Hope Tree."

And helping is exactly what they did.

Each week there’s an average of 230 visits to the clothing room at Siloam Mission. With the onset of freezing weather and heavy snowfalls, the girls’ donation will help keep the clothing room fully stocked for those who need it most.

But the girls also helped Siloam in another way — they became young advocates for their inner-city neighbours and raised awareness among their fellow students.

“We’ve learned to really care about the homeless. We didn’t even really know they existed before,” says Christina.