By Steph McNicol
St Mary’s Primary School in Whittlesea played its part in donating to rebuild following the summer’s bushfires.
The primary students each contributed a gold coin donation to dress up as an emergency service worker while some brought in larger donations, raising a total of $501.
All of the money raised by the school community will be passed on to St Vincent de Paul – a not- for-profit organisation focused on restoring justice.
The fund will rebuild homes, supply food and water for people impacted by the fires and assist wildlife getting back on track.
Grade six students Alice Fitzgerald and Jaida Keith were two of many who supported the cause.
“We’re raising money for the bushfires around Victoria and New South Wales. Hopefully maybe some of the money goes to the animal sanctuaries that are affected,” Alice said.
“The money is going to be helping the CFA, the animals and the people because they’ve been affected the most. It’s going to help them rebuild,” Jaida said.
Religious Education leader Angelo Iacopino said St Mary’s was giving back to the community that helped them during the Black Saturday fires.
“Communities got together and they helped out Kinglake and helped out our families, so for us it’s just natural that we want to do the same thing,” Mr Iacopino said.
“When the Black Saturday Fires happened 10 years ago, a lot of our families were affected, and St Mary’s became a shelter for families that were displaced.
“It happened to us 10 years ago and a lot of families know the devastation and the life afterwards, so we want to do the same.”
