News and Events > News > Social Responsibility in Action
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School has had a busy start to the year with a variety of fundraising projects being undertaken. These projects are held as part of the School's Social Responsibility Program and encourage the girls to provide support for people in need. As an Interhouse Competition, the girls participated in the Anglican Board of Mission's School Challenge being held during Lent this year. Money has been donated during the term to buy fruit and forest trees for farmers in a remote village in the Northern Philippines. These trees will stabilise slopes, help with water harvesting and provide sustainable timber resources. The orchard trees will also provide fruit to supplement the diets of the people. The final figure raised was $1700 which will buy 297 fruit trees and 1734 forest trees.
Early in Term One, the girls participated in a ‘Gold Rush' during Assembly that raised $1,172 for the Haiti earthquake appeal. A Movie Night was recently held at the Myer Centre Cinema to raise funds for Unifem Australia's International Women's Day Project. This project aims to secure the human rights of female migrant workers in Indonesia through training and support programs. Over $900.was raised on the night.
Students were also involved in raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave on Friday 12 March. Principal, Dr Sue Simon, said that the girls approached this event, like others, in a very enthusiastic manner. "Our whole School entered into the spirit of supporting Shave for a Cure by being part of the wonderful lunchtime festivities organised by the Oaktree Foundation. Maggies Rock Band added to the excitement, whilst several teachers had fluoro stripes sprayed onto their hair. This event was an example of the enthusiasm our girls and staff have for philanthropic ventures for such great causes - and they certainly love doing it in a spirit of fun!"
In another fundraising activity, a donation of $700 was made to the 2010 Student Appeal for the School of St Jude in Tanzania, a School founded by Gemma Sisia. This contribution towards the Great Walls of Arusha appeal package has helped to pay for seven square metres of brick wall. The brick walls will provide classrooms for the students, libraries, science labs, computer labs, staffrooms, boarding rooms and many years worth of free education for the children of Tanzania. The School of St Jude has grown from three children in 2002, to over 1300 students in 2010, thanks to the generosity of donations that they have received.
St Margaret's has maintained an outstanding commitment to social responsibility, which is emphasised through the Cultural and Community Department at the School. One of the groups with a particular focus on supporting others in need is the Oaktree Foundation, a social responsibility group formed in 1996 at St Margaret's. The Oaktree Foundation aims to develop the students' sense of social responsibility in the local, national and international community by encouraging ‘hands on' projects that have a financial, educational or awareness focus to continually contribute positively to these communities and help alleviate poverty.
In commenting on the achievements of the girls, St Margaret's Chaplain, Revd. Di Murphy said, "The generosity of the St Margaret's girls is outstanding but not surprising. They always respond so well to those in need."
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