Putting their stamp on giving
News
More than 200 students attended the annual Catholic Charities Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Archbishop Patrick O’Regan in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on September 7.
Music was led by the student choir from St Aloysius College, with students from St Catherine’s, St John Bosco, Star of the Sea, Holy Family, St Michael’s College and Nazareth College participating in the liturgy.
After Mass students enjoyed lunch on the lawns before moving into the Cathedral Hall for the Charities Expo.
Adding a new dimension this year, the participating students became “explorers”. Armed with their ‘me4u passports’, they set off to visit the various stalls from agencies supported by Catholic Charities and the four schools selected for their outstanding fundraising efforts in 2024, collecting stamps along the way.
Each stall offered an activity. Aboriginal Catholic Ministry engaged students in rock painting and badge-making, Centacare invited children to colour bookmarks while learning about carers and showcased what goes into care packs while Hutt St Centre ran quizzes with giveaways for clever answers.
Holy Family School displayed their preserved olives and spoke about how they harvested, processed and marketed their produce to donate the funds to Catholic Charities.
St Michael’s stall showed how their ‘me4u@Christmas – Bags of Love’ made a difference to those in need last Christmas, and St Catherine’s School impressed everyone with their fundraising ideas which raised $7086.
Once their passports were filled with stamps, the young explorers received lolly bags.
Catholic Charities manager Christina Francis said the day ended with “smiles, new knowledge and plenty of inspiration”.
“Students left not only with goodies in hand but also with fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm for supporting Catholic Charities and the me4u campaign in the year ahead,” she said.
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