Students support those in need

MORE than a dozen senior students from Bacchus Marsh’s Indie School could be seen getting into the spirit of the giving season early with a food bank drive last month.

On Wednesday 23 October from morning until midday, about 15 year 11 students were based at the front of ALDI, collecting food items and cash donations from passersby.

With the results donated to local Christian not-for-profit organisation The Neighbours’ Place, VCE vocational major teacher Marie Baker – who led the effort – said it was an incredible display of community compassion.

“The students did a great job,” she said. “They came up with the idea to create flyers and the thought process was we’d give passersby the flyer with some items on there and ask them to donate one product.

“It also made the kids step out of their comfort zone. It can be daunting interrupting a stranger’s day like that but we found the community was amazing.

“They were behind us 110 per cent, which was fabulous.

“We’d been talking as part of the curriculum about what makes a valuable citizen and so as part of the school community we wanted to give back to our local community.”

The effort was the result of about five months of planning, with students collecting $154 in funds and filling the tray, backseats, and passenger seats of a Toyota Hilux ute.

“We filled the floor of the Neighbours’ Place trailer,” Ms Baker added.

The goods were dropped off in the afternoon immediately following the drive and included pastas, sauces, rice and pre-packaged food.

The initial food drive was complemented the following day with $200 in goods donated by Bacchus Marsh Police Senior Constable Jim Ross following a discussion with a student, which was delivered on the Friday.

Ms Baker considered the food drive to be the first of its kind from Indie School Bacchus Marsh, and said she expects it to become a regular initiative.

“We were trialing it this year,” she said. “The year 11 students have personal development skills they have to develop and we do a whole unit on what is community.

“We might try to do it at least twice a year, once early in the year and again later in the year.”