Community Action (Charity) Day

Compassion is a huge part of our school life and we are fortunate to have a very active Community Action Group, led by Mrs Alford and Mrs Kenwood, who support pupils with their charity projects and help them to provide meaningful community projects.

This week, our school assemblies have been led by a group of Sixth Form students who talked about a charity they are passionate about: The Umunthu Foundation.

The Umunthu Foundation is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Malawi aimed at improving the quality of life for people and their families living with HIV. Through funding and partnership support, they have grown into a trusted community organisation currently supporting 1650 people from Malawi.

Umunthu was built in 2006 by David Odali. He has always put an emphasis on the education of women and teenage girls’ sexual rights, as this is so important both for equality and reducing HIV’s prevalence. This is often done through social events such as last November when Umunthu ran a girls’ football tournament between four local teams to spread awareness of the importance of female education and sexual rights.

This Friday’s Community Action Day is run in support of The Umunthu Foundation.

In addition to our termly Community Action Days, each form group holds its own charity week, where the planning for this is a big part of their tutor group time. Each form researches the charities they would like to support and together plan and promote a small fundraising event for their chosen charity, often in the form of a bake sale or other initiatives.

A group of 3rd Year pupils (pictured top left) recently impressed their tutors with a presentation about a fundraising initiative for Cancer Research UK.

Their tutor, Ms Le Bihan, said “I was so impressed with their determination and commitment, creating the PowerPoint and standing in front of their peers to talk about Cancer Research with such passion and enthusiasm.”

We are pleased to have supported many local, national and international charities having so far raised over £11,000 this academic year for the following charities:

Shelterbox, Macmillian, British Heart Foundation, All We Can, Truro Food Bank, Children’s Hospice, Educate not Mutilate, Cancer Research, St Julia’s Hospice, Women for Women International, Surfers Against Sewage.

Thank you to all our caring and compassionate pupils and staff who help us achieve good things within our school community and communities elsewhere.