Raising funds and awareness through action

Max Thorpe Vice-Captain of School – Service

Over the last semester there have been many Service activities with proactive support and participation from all three sub-schools.

In Spring Term, the College took part in the Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal, the Uniting WA Christmas Appeal and Boardies Day.

The Poppy Appeal saw Year 12 Stuart and Brisbane House students selling red poppies across the three sub-schools and the wider community to raise funds for RSL WA. Boys wore their red poppy on Remembrance Day as a sign of solidarity to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The Uniting WA Christmas Appeal was a roaring success, with all three sub-schools donating enormous amounts of nonperishable food to families in need over the Christmas period. A special shout out to Ross House in the Senior School who filled over two and a half boxes.

Last term the major service event for the Senior School was Boardies Day, which raised awareness and funds for Surf Life Saving WA and the amazing work they do throughout the summer months to keep WA beaches safe. At lunchtime those who weren’t in the line for a sausage sizzle were gathered around the pool to watch the annual bommie contest and the atmosphere was amazing.

With the bar set high, the entire school set out to give as much to Service as they could in Summer Term and World’s Greatest Shave provided a great opportunity to do this.

World’s Greatest Shave is run by the Leukaemia Foundation and raises funds and awareness for blood cancer. Scotch has a long-standing connection with this event which has become one of the biggest on the school calendar. The Junior School boys coloured their hair with fluorescent hair spray, whilst the Middle and Senior School boys took to the clippers, buzzing their hair in Week 7. This year saw the Year 12 cohort take their shave to PLC for a combined shave and cut day. This provided an amazing opportunity for the two schools to come together and raise awareness for this cause. In total the school raised over $142,000, an extraordinary amount, which could fund over 906 days of research for a PhD student trying to fund a cure for leukaemia or over 1700 nights of accommodation in a big city for a regional family requiring treatment. The impact that our efforts will have on those battling leukaemia is astonishing and is something that everyone who participated should be extremely proud of.

Whilst it is important to reflect on what we have done well so far, the Service team and I are looking forward into the future and focusing on the service initiatives still to come.