Service and contribution shape both individual lives and the broader community. It sits very much at the heart of Melbourne Grammar School’s ethos, as well as the Anglican tradition.
By providing our students with the opportunity for meaningful service, we want to inspire them to pursue a ‘good’ life – that is, a life fulfilled by meaning, purpose and achievement. In doing so, we hope to support the creation of an empowering and inclusive community, and a kinder world.
At Wadhurst, at a time when students are navigating significant personal and social development, service becomes a vehicle for reflection and growth, helping students to better understand who they are, and where they belong. They learn that even the smallest of actions can have a big impact, and that values like empathy, respect and kindness must be lived every day.
Importantly, many service activities for this group directly relate to what they are studying, doing or talking about in their classrooms, enabling students to better appreciate the relevance and impact of their actions.
Commonly student-led, initiatives undertaken this year include preparing food for those in need and running a drive to collect good quality runners which were no longer needed for distribution to First Nations teenagers on Tiwi Island.
At Wadhurst, International Women’s Day has, for many years, been seen as an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements and to reflect on how we can all help create a fairer world for everyone. Students are also asked to look for steps they can reasonably undertake in support of that intent.
This year Wilhelm House took on the task of devising and organising a plan by which all Wadhurst students could support women in a way that made sense to them. The student leaders recognised that they could make a real contribution by supporting a charity which distributes period and incontinence products to organisations that support women and girls experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence, or doing it tough.
And so, a collection drive for period and incontinence products was held.
Led by Hank Ren, Wilhelm House Captain, House members worked as a team to encourage as many Wadhurst students to donate as many period and incontinence products as they could.
“I think service helps develop your sense of community and responsibility for those around you,” says Hank. “Everyone has the capacity to take action and have a lasting impact on future generations.”
