Students at some of Perth’s Catholic schools have brought great generosity out of their local communities, gathering goods for the Society of St Vincent de Paul’s Christmas Appeal and for refugees in war-torn Syria.
At Irene McCormack Catholic College, some Year 8 students began collecting jumpers, coats, parkers, hoodies and sweaters, inviting the rest of the College to join in with the Sweater Appeal for Syria, assisting refugees fleeing violence in Syria.
Over 400 garments were received and given to the Salvation Army last month, in an effort to reach some of the 2.1 million Syrian refugees displaced in border camps in Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, and in time to negate the worst effects of winter.
Latest figures from UNICEF show more than 740,000 Syrian child refugees are under the age of 11.
Year 8 care teacher Ryan Coutts said the students showed great initiative in running the Sweater Appeal for Syria.
“The students showed that through small gestures, they can create a big difference in the lives of others,” he said.
“Hopefully this will encourage other students at IMCC to provide action in the cause of social justice.”
Students and staff at the College have also spread a little joy by providing families in their local community with Christmas gift hampers of food, presents and Christmas decorations, including lots of Christmas treats.
This time each year, students are given a description of a family in the community who are going through tough times and they imagine what it would be like to be in that position.
Students spent weeks turning their baskets into overflowing Christmas hampers.
One Care Group collected for a family of six. The father had just lost his job and the family was struggling to put food on the table.
The response and generosity of the College community was overwhelming, with 71 hampers collected.
Christian Service coordinator at the College Karen Wilson said she was proud of the students’ efforts.
“I have lost count of the number of students who told me how they thought about the family they collected for when they wake up first thing Christmas morning. That always made me smile,” she said. “Students became very invested in the families they were collecting for and took great care about what to bring in.”
Kolbe Catholic College students also prepared Christmas hampers for the Rockingham branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Donated items were brought to the school over four weeks, and included more than 60 boxes of canned food, toiletries and packet food, which students then arranged into hampers.