Students supporting those in need

Students supporting those in need

Neil Starkie, General Manager – Strategic Partnerships and Growth

The Perth and broader Western Australian Anglican community have been loyal supporters of St Bart’s since our 1963 inception when The Most Revd George Appleton CMG, MBE and Dr James Watson founded the organisation as a small homeless shelter for men in East Perth. Nearly 60 years later, St Bart’s remains fortunate to enjoy the ongoing support of the Anglican community and, within it, schools and their students and families who partner with us to assist those we support.

Over the years, Anglican school students and their families have generously volunteered countless hours of their time and energy in support of St Bart’s. Recently, our residents and service consumers have enjoyed a range of meals cooked and provided to St Bart’s by students from Anglican schools across Perth. In April, Hale School students and their families generously provided us with more than 570 pre-made meals and, in June, Year 10 Christ Church Grammar School students used their cooking class to prepare meals of fresh pasta for St Bart’s residents and service consumers to enjoy.

We have also benefitted from the support provided by schools outside the Anglican community who acknowledge the value of partnering with St Bart’s to help us deliver on our Mission. Earlier in the year, we were pleased to welcome students from Holy Cross College to our onsite Café Lime in East Perth and to our Women’s Service to cook a hearty breakfast for residents and service consumers. While here, the students were able to learn more about homelessness and its impacts on those in our services who have lived experience. Here is a snippet of the feedback provided to St Bart’s from Holy Cross College after their visit; The kids all had a fantastic time and said that they loved having the opportunity to serve the people in your community’.

Mercedes College and St Stephen’s students have also generously spent time sprucing up the gardens at our various sites, with Mercedes College’s recent donations of potted succulents donated to the ladies in our Women’s Service proving popular and greatly appreciated.

Maintaining and building upon our existing engagement with the Anglican School community is a key component of St Bart’s recently updated Anglican Connection Plan. We look forward to enhancing our relationships with Anglican schools and their students and families through our delivery of the plan, which aims to broaden the invaluable learning experience around homelessness for students who engage with St Bart’s.

For any schools interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities for students, feel free to visit stbarts.org.au or get in touch with our Volunteer Programs Manager Carla Mele volunteer@stbarts.org.au.