Yellowknife (Nov 01/06) - Weledeh school students may not know what it's like for temperatures to go above 40 C, but they can relate to the cold.

Fundraising through cake auctions and bringing in donations, students are working with the Rotary Club in Yellowknife to provide blankets for poor Mexican children.

Barry Talbot, of the Yellowknife Rotary Club, speaks to Weledeh school students about the cause they're aiding. The students are looking to raise $2,500 to buy blankets for children in Mexico. - Jessica Klinkenberg/NNSL photo

"The average temperature is six degrees at night. It could drop to almost freezing some nights," Barry Talbot, of the Yellowknife Rotary Club, told Weledeh students of winter conditions in Mexico.

"It not only gives them blankets but it gives them jobs," Talbot said, explaining that the purchased blankets will be made in Mexico by local workers.

The school is working to raise $2,500. They should have the tally by today (Wednesday). The money will help a school of 250 students in Hermosillo, Mexico.

"Our kids understand what it means to be cold," Weledeh principal Merrill Dean said.

The Rotary Club and Weledeh school have worked successfully on fundraisers in the past.

For the last two years the school has been sponsoring wheelchairs for children in Mexico.

"It provides assistance to kids their own ages," Dean said of the initiatives.

Talbot added, "We raised enough for 29 wheelchairs over two years. It's been awesome."

In December, Talbot will fly to Hermosillo, where he and Rotarians in Mexico will be presenting the blankets to the school.