Tenison House Cookie Fundraising
Tenison House Bakes Up a Storm for the Vinnies Winter Appeal
For the fourth consecutive year, Tenison House proudly rolled up its sleeves for our annual cookie fundraiser—this year supporting the St Vincent de Paul Society's Winter Appeal. What began as a much-loved House tradition reached new heights in 2026, with almost double the number of cookies baked and sold compared to previous years. It was our biggest and most successful Cookie Drive yet.
Week 10 of Term 2 was a hive of activity as students and staff came together across four busy days. Two days were dedicated to preparing dough and baking an incredible 2,700 chocolate chip cookies, followed by two days of selling them to students and staff across the College. The response from our school community was overwhelming, with the fundraiser raising an amazing $2,000 for the St Vincent de Paul Society's Winter Appeal. As an added contribution, 500 cookies were also donated to the Vinnies Food Vans, providing a sweet treat for members of our local community doing it tough this winter.
What made this fundraiser so special was the way our entire College community rallied behind the cause. Every Tenison student contributed ingredients towards the cookies, while many students from other Houses generously volunteered their time to prepare dough, bake and sell the cookies. It was wonderful to see students from across the College working side by side, giving up their own time and embracing the spirit of service.
A special acknowledgement must go to our outstanding Tenison House Captains, Ashton Ford and Simone Angel, whose leadership was instrumental in the success of this project. From the earliest planning stages, Ashton and Simone coordinated the fundraiser with enthusiasm and professionalism, reaching out to local businesses for sponsorship, recycling 10c cans, following up on donations, communicating with students and staff, organising ingredients, coordinating volunteers, and helping oversee every stage of the event. Their initiative, organisation and commitment inspired others to become involved and ensured the Cookie Drive ran smoothly from start to finish. They should be incredibly proud of the difference they have made.
We were also incredibly fortunate to receive the generous support of several local businesses who donated ingredients and supplies to help make the fundraiser possible. Our sincere thanks go to Golden Free Range Chicken Farm, Coles Glebe Hill, Coles Sorell, Woolworths Eastlands (Rosny), Woolworths Sorell, Salamanca Fresh Bellerive, and IGA Lindisfarne for their generosity and willingness to support our students in making a difference. Additionally, Tenison’s new 10c Recycle Rewards initiative, provided additional funding, allowing us to purchase remaining ingredients. These contributions, together with the generosity of Tenison families and the hard work of our students, staff and maintenance volunteers, transformed this fundraiser into a true community effort.
More than simply raising money, this project gave our students the opportunity to put their faith into action. Inspired by the example of Saint Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods, they truly lived the message of "Never see a need without doing something about it." The Cookie Drive was a wonderful example of Tenison's values of Kinship and Dedication in action, and I could not be prouder of every student, staff member and supporter across the school who helped make this year's event such an outstanding success.
Miss Cathy Allen
Tenison Head of House
