Brentwoodian 2019

97 Services The School’s charitable ethos and fundraising framework was strengthened last year by using a new format. From September, Houses were encouraged to support, visit and raise funds for a local charity, whilst Year groups each chose a national charity. As a school, each term we focused on an international charity. By dividing up our areas for raising awareness and resources, students were able to learn about different charities and causes both near and far. I have been incredibly impressed by the students’ commitment to the new charity programme and there have certainly been some inspiring events put on to raise funds. Notable achievements include £1,154 raised by Alexandra and Katherine Hak for the Fourth Year charity, the British Heart Foundation. By selling anonymous roses for Valentine’s Day, the girls were able to involve the whole school in their fundraising and there was a fantastic atmosphere on the 14th February when the roses were delivered! Miss Faulkner, a Second Year tutor, also arranged a fantastic and emotional visit in May from a number of street children from Kolkata who are sponsored by the Hope Foundation, an organisation Miss Faulkner volunteered with, and the School’s Michaelmas charity for which we raised £2,300, following the Christmas Fair and Christmas Jumper day. The courage and experiences of the children even inspired Oliver Maltby, a pupil in the Second Year, and his family to sponsor one of them. This act of kindness is symbolic of the impact that raising awareness and funds for charities can have on young people. The Houses have also made some fantastic connections with local charities. South House had an inspiring assembly from local family charity, First Steps, which inspired members of the House to raise funds in their House week. Weald have also formed a strong bond with Little Havens Hospice, visiting the centre in Benfleet with Lower Sixth students last term and also running various assemblies with representatives from the charity. Focusing on local charities has also allowed Houses to make a big impact, even if they have not raised as much money as the larger school-wide fundraising has. The fact that students can meet with and visit the local charities also allows them an insight into the issues facing people in their area and inspires them further as to how they can help make change. Below are some more examples of how individuals organised and ran fundraising events last year. It was truly inspiring to see so much of the school community getting involved with raising funds and collecting resources for worthy causes and I can only hope we do the same, if not more, this coming year. By Miss Martin in summary... The VSA continues to be filled with loyal members who are passionate about volunteering and helping those in the local area. Last year’s efforts included regular visits to local care homes, helping with the Brentwood Centre Community Garden, organising a beach clean at Southend and, obviously, our eternally-popular Christmas Party for the elderly. Looking ahead to this year, the VSA is experiencing exciting change; students are taking part in a series of externally provided talks and workshops on a range of issues such as Global Warming, the National Citizen Service scheme and Community Outreach in the Michaelmas term. Students will also be formulating community plans that they will hopefully roll out in the local area to help those in need. For the remaining two terms, members will continue to do Friday activities and there is scope to make further connections with local animal sanctuaries, care homes and schools. From January, members will also be issued a VSA uniform, which will only strengthen our community and identity further. I will leave it to Inger Hansen, one of our VSA Captains, to elaborate on the ever-expanding VSA! By Miss Martin