Environment Group 

Free Dress Day

The Environment Group would like to send a huge thank you to the wider Marist College community for their generous support of the Free Dress Day on Monday for FareShare. Below is a photo of some of our students will all the staples that were collected on the day (and that kept pouring in throughout the week). It was quite touching to see how appreciative the staff at FareShare were. Obviously, they receive tonnes of donations each week, but these are usually from big businesses, not from schools. They couldn’t believe that it was students who had brought in the food – and were so thankful when they thought it was just a bootload of food, not two full cars worth plus the additional funds as well.

On Thursday night, we took a group of 10 students and 6 staff to FareShare to join in with their night shift. Below is Jack Lowe’s summary of the night. We would also like to thank Mrs Andrea Williams, Mr Damian Nelson, Mrs Elizabeth Valer and Mr Adam Knight for accompanying us. It was so good to see boys doing something to help their wider community – and they definitely put us to work! You couldn’t ask for a nicer group of boys and it’s wonderful to see where all of our discussions about food waste at our Environment Group meetings have led us. We are hoping to run more FareShare events in the future. 

Even though they are a non-denominational organisation, the Head Chef there emphasised to the boys the importance of community, especially at the moment when many households are doing it tough, as well as the dignity of people being able to receive healthy and nutritious meals, no matter their circumstances. You can’t help but see the connections to our Marist beliefs. 

What’s more, the lunchtime stall our Year 10 LMYELN leaders plus Year 11 students held on Monday raised enough funds for their bush tucker garden project. This will be placed at the back of the Science Centre in the currently unused space next to the Basketball courts. We will be having two volunteer events next term to start the soil turnover and planting of this so watch this space.

Jack Lowe’s, Year 11 student, summary –

On Thursday 10 August, a group of senior boys volunteered their time with FareShare. We had a great time working together toward the goal of 2000 meals prepared. We were lucky enough to be making a roast chicken meal that included mashed potatoes, that were made from excess chips from a local restaurant, chicken from the local shops, and excess beans and cauliflower from local farms. It was incredibly interesting to see the impact FareShare has on thousands of Australians every year and the sheer amount of food that would have been wasted if not for the work of the FareShare team and their dedicated army of volunteers. We owe a great deal of thanks to Ms Kenny, Ms Badini, Ms Williams, Mr Knight, Mrs Valer and Mr Nelson for making this experience possible and working with us in the production line. To learn more about FareShare and register your interest to help, visit their website or social media sites. FareShare Australia | Meal Relief Charity