St Paul’s High School, Booragul, held its annual cancer fundraising event, ‘Beanies and Bandannas Day’ where students complemented their uniforms with beanies and bandannas for the day and donated money to two charities.
The charities this year were CanTeen, which supports young people living with cancer and the Mark Hughes Foundation, which supports medical research and brain cancer patients.
Each year, a student is presented with the Sunshine Award, with Sunshine being the theme of the day. This tradition began in support of a student named Jacqui Chatburn, who inspired others with her joyfulness and resilience despite suffering from cancer.
The winner of the Sunshine Award each year is determined by the Year 12 students. This year’s winner is Daniel Shore. His peers selected him as a person they believe brings light, joyfulness and inspiration to others.
The day concluded with a special futsal match where senior students competed in their house teams, cheered on by the junior students.
The annual tradition of cancer fundraising and the ‘Sunshine Award’ is an important part of the community spirit and tradition of St Paul’s High School, as well as a fundraiser for two worthwhile charities.
James Furey, Assistant Principal – Welfare, commented that, “Students at St Paul’s have repeatedly shown that they are willing to encourage and support each other, it is one of the great things about our community”.
Up the highway at All Saints College, St Peter’s Campus, Maitland, students wore their beanies and donated gold coins to support and raise awareness for brain cancer. Participating in the Mark Hughes fundraiser is something St Peter’s adopted when the foundation first began in 2013. Mark Hughes is a former student of St Peter’s and so this event is close to the hearts of staff and students.
Each year, Year 7 students have the opportunity to speak with Mark and listen to his story.
“Our Student Representative Council have been working hard to raise awareness in our school and the wider community in support of this fundraiser for brain cancer. As a community, we raised a total of $1200 for the foundation. We are very proud of our students and the generosity they have shown,” said Principal, Bernard Burgess.
