Year 9 Community Service

The benefits of volunteering are enormous! Especially at a time when volunteering numbers are declining and our Year 9 Community Service students have done a wonderful job representing St Philip’s College, as they have supported a range of Alice Springs locations. 

The sense of satisfaction from helping & engaging with others is rewarding; learning and improving knowledge and skills through the experience can be fun, motivating and can open other opportunities which benefits everyone involved; and most importantly, it assists those within our community who need it most.

Community Service students have been providing support to Alice Springs Foodbank, St Vincent de Paul, Central Australian Aviation Museum, 8CCC Community Radio, Rona Glynn Pre-School, Ross Park Primary, Sadadeen Pre-School & Primary, Bradshaw Pre-School & Primary, Braitling Pre-School & Primary, Araluen Christian College, Living Waters Lutheran School, Larapinta Primary & the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army’s visitors have been enjoying meals cooked by our students since 2008. They provide meals daily to a minimum of 100 people, with some days up to 130.

Our students have continued the tradition by preparing meals which have included a variety of hearty soups, Cottage Pie, Tuna Pasta Bake, Fried Rice and the very popular Sweet & Sour Chicken.

During this term, Salvation Army representative Sally Courtney and Paul Tanner visited the cooking students to show their appreciation and invited the students to visit the local Corps - also known as “The Waterhole” - where they had the opportunity to serve the meals they had prepared to the visitors and see how the Salvo volunteers help those in need. Not only do they offer a hot meal, but they also provide a place for them to wash their clothes, have a shower, store personal belongings, collect food vouchers, assistance with housing and employment, as well as has a chapel where church services are held on Sundays.

With Christmas just around the corner, this year will mark the 50th Anniversary of Cyclone Tracy. The Salvation Army have produced resources that acknowledge the profound impact of Tracy and the resilience of the people of Darwin.

“With the wind gusts reaching 217 km/h, the destruction in the early hours of Christmas Day, 1974 was devastating. Cyclone Tracy killed 66 people, seriously injured 145, wiped out 80 per cent of the city and left many of the 48,000-strong population homeless. Survivors who spent hours sheltering in their homes were left traumatised, with many people never returning to Darwin.

The Salvation Army worked tirelessly in the wake of Cyclone Tracy supporting over 36,000 people with clothes, food and assistance, provided 25,000 meals at Darwin Airport in the first four days following the cyclone and walked alongside Darwin residents in their time of despair, talking and listening to people in an attempt to bring some comfort and hope.

As survivors fled Darwin, they were met at the other end of their flight by The Salvation Army, providing temporary accommodation and assistance through relief centres across Australia. On one day alone more than 6,000 people were evacuated by plane from Darwin to other capital cities to be met by The Salvation Army and other organisations. It took weeks, months, years to grasp the scale of the trauma Tracy inflicted – memories of the disaster remain vivid 50 years on.”

Community Service is certainly a team effort, and I would like to thank our hosts, who allow our students the opportunity to provide service, and the amazing staff who have helped support me by making this possible. Whether it was supervising specific locations or driving the buses, I couldn’t have done it without them!

If you’re considering volunteering, I certainly recommend it! 

Tammi Renshaw

Community Service Co-Ordinator