GEKA Caulfield South

Lifetime Community Membership

GEKA Caulfield South Educators

For the past seven years we at GEKA Caulfield South Kindergarten have participated in a ‘Food for Families’ drive through the charity organisation Wesley Mission. 

Over the last four years, demand for homelessness services in Victoria have increased by 30%. With our existing funding we can give every family that asks for help just $5 worth of food, which is equivalent to a few packets of pasta. But through Food for Families, we are able to provide two to three bags full of food and toiletries per family, each time they visit.

(Wesley Mission Australia)

The decision for our kindergarten to become involved in this charity came about from discussions the teaching team had around wanting to teach children about the importance of kindness and caring for others.  Learning and talking about people in the world that are less fortunate than ourselves is an important component of this learning and helps children build an understanding of becoming an active and engaged citizen in the community. 

A beautiful book called Mutt Dog by Stephen Michael King is a great introduction to exploring issues of homelessness and thinking about ways to help others in need.  The story follows the life of a dog who is living on the streets without a family of his own, and the struggles he has surviving in the city streets alone.  Within the story we are introduced to the concept of a ‘halfway house’ where homeless people come for shelter and food.  This story often elicits a strong reaction from our kindergarteners as the sense of unfairness and despair is felt deeply.  The story becomes powerful as we highlight to the children the people who are helping, and the power of their help to changing the outcome for Mutt dog and the homeless people.  This story teaches children that action in the face of adversity is what makes the difference.  It can also help reduce fear and anxiety children may have when faced with challenging situations.  Teachers work to create an environment where children can share their thoughts and worries, and teachers can support children to work through these and problem solve to overcome.

Another book that supports this learning is called What Can A Citizen Do? By Dave Eggers.  A beautiful rhyming story, this book talks about all the different ways a person, no matter how small can contribute and help to make the world a better place.  This story is uplifting and ignites some wonderful ideas that children can do to support our community and those within it. 

As so, the food donation is a wonderful experience for the children to participate in towards the end of the year where their ‘actions’ can help others in need.  We often use the term ‘superhero’ to describe helpers at kindergarten and hope that children will hold strong to the wonderful sense of kindness and caring for others as they journey through life.