Community helps college continue giving

SURF Coast Secondary College (SCSC) is continuing to act as a conduit for the community’s generosity by collecting food donations for those in need.

Earlier in the year, SCSC featured on Channel 10’s The Project for the efforts of some of their students and staff cooking for people who were struggling.

The college had also placed collection boxes for people to donate non-perishables at the doors of Coles Torquay and both Woolworths Torquay and Woolworths Torquay North, with Peachs Torquay also giving substantial weekly donations.

While the return of Stage 3 restrictions has halted the college’s soup-making, the donations at the supermarkets have only increased.

SCSC wellbeing coordinator Peter Raidme collects the donations from the stores every Friday morning.

Mr Raidme said he has been astounded at the community’s continued openhandedness.

“I thought ‘let’s keep this going for as long as we can because COVID here or not, there are so many people in need of assistance,'” he said.

“With the supermarkets it is just getting bigger each week. The community keeps giving, it’s just amazing, and it blows me away how generous people are.

“Peachs have been wonderful, they just donate. They obviously don’t have a collection box there, but they just say ‘come in Friday morning and take what you like.'”

Coles Torquay has added a second box for people to place contribute to due to the high volume of donations.

SCSC acting principal Tamara Stubley the program epitomised the college’s ambition to help the surrounding region.

“It’s recognition of the responsibility but also the link that we have to be able to support the wider community.”

The donations from the supermarkets and Peachs are firstly distributed to local families SCSC know are struggling. Mr Raidme then delivers the remaining goods to the Salvation Army sub-branch in North Geelong.

Mr Raidme said making the deliveries highlights to him the importance of these contributions.

“The North Geelong Salvos have people lining up, like last Friday, the line was 150-metres long of people waiting for food hampers. We don’t see that in Torquay, but it’s not say there isn’t people from Torquay in the line either.”