HELPING homeless people has been on the minds of many Catholic school students in Brisbane archdiocese this term.
St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School, Runaway Bay, and Holy Spirit School, Bray Park, have given substantial donations to the Rosies Winter Appeal.
Rosies manager Bob Boardman said he was impressed by, not just the generosity displayed by both schools, but also by students’ research into the issue of homelessness.
“Winter is a difficult time for homeless people sleeping rough and even more so with rain and we are blessed to have many, many schools support us,” Mr Boardman said.
“Unfortunately the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show an increase in the homeless numbers even though a lot of organisations are doing good work in the area.”
Mr Boardman said hot drinks such as coffee and soups, along with sleeping bags and blankets, were always needed.
Warm drinks were the focus of donations at St Francis Xavier primary school, with assistant principal for religious education (APRE) Jackie Cameron grateful for the generosity that resulted in the accumulation of three bin-loads of donations recently delivered to Rosies’ Gold Coast outreach.
“Our Year Seven pastoral care committee, under the leadership of Fabian Nunis, worked hard to promote this most worthy cause,” Ms Cameron said.
“I continue to be amazed by the quality of commitment of this committee and I enjoy co-ordinating social justice activities with them.”
At Holy Spirit School, students concen-trated on collecting blankets and jumpers, with Year 4 students co-ordinating the appeal.
APRE Geraldine Goode said it required “several trips” to deliver the school’s donations.
She said Year 4 students took on the task of promoting the appeal to the rest of the school, and students and families showed generous support.
“When Bob Boardman visited our school to talk to Year Four students he was very impressed with their commitment to support the homeless at such a young age,” Ms Goode said.
Mr Boardman said Rosies was still seeking support for its winter appeal and financial support to keep its outreach vans on the road.
“Rosies has a prominent website and people can always contact us and donate through that,” he said.
