Samaritan’s Purse, a charitable organisation that co-ordinates the distribution of Christmas gifts to children in third world countries, was the recipient of a recent fund-raiser at Cornerstone Christian College.

Tying in with a book-week theme, students were able to exchange their uniforms for the privilege of coming dressed as a character from a book (or movie for secondary students).  Almost $500 was raised on the day, and some fairly impressive costumes were on view.  Staff even got in on the act, with Principal, Bruce Douglas as the Man from Snowy River, Deputy of Secondary Bob Cameron was ‘The Stig’ and Deputy of Primary Edie Strutt came in a royal theme and frequently declared ‘Off with their heads’.  Many other staff were also arrayed in costumes that were absolutely delightful to see, although, some possibly made the completion of certain tasks a little more onerous than usual.

As for the students, the array of costumes was quite extra-ordinary.  With book voucher prizes on offer, the incentive was there to make a great effort.  Within the Primary School, the winners came as Cat in the Hat, Where’s Wally, Dorothy, James Bond, Snow White and Pippi Long-stocking.  Within the secondary, entire forms came dressed to theme.  Mrs Wrights Year 8B class came from the musical Grease.   The winning Secondary students can be seen in the image below.

As for the real winners – that would have to be the young children who will receive a Christmas gift this December because of today’s efforts.  Well done to all.

Operation Christmas Child is an initiative of The Samaritan’s Purse, which aims to bring joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes.  This week, students from Cornerstone Christian College began the process of filling empty shoe boxes with suitable items for their poorer counterparts.

Samaritan’s Purse has changed the lives of children through Operation Christmas Child since 1993.  In 2009, teams in Australia and New Zealand delivered over 300,000 gift-filled shoe boxes to South East Asia and the South Pacific. Globally, Samaritan’s Purse distributed an estimated 8.5 million shoe boxes to children in 105 countries.

It provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple but hands-on project that has the power to transform children’s lives.

Each year, families from Cornerstone are encouraged to take on the opportunity to fill a small shoebox with simple gifts, such as clothing, small toys and personal items, and deliver it to the College on a set day.  These shoe boxes are then delivered to another part of the world, often being the first gift a child has ever received on Christmas day.

Secondary students are taking a practical approach, with the Red Cross Cadets making items suitable for inclusion, such as book bags and small toiletry bags.  Other class groups are electing to take on the challenge as a class, with students able to provide items that will be collectively gathered to fill boxes.  The students will be able to track the journey each box makes, and see the region to which it will eventually end up.  This personal connection makes the process a great experience for each participant.

In a recent assembly, the region’s organiser, Mrs Helen Baker was able to explain the process to students, and explain the journey any gifts made from College students will take.

For more details on the project and the heart warming stories that have been derived from it, take a look at their website at www.operationchristmaschild.org.au.

A special thank you to the families who have already expressed a desire to participate.  When school returns at the start of Term 4, the boxes will be gathered together, presented to Helen Baker, and be used to bless others less fortunate than those who have generously given.  A wonderful initiative.

The Busselton Community will benefit from a recent free dress day at Cornerstone, when uniforms were swapped for the opportunity to help those less fortunate.

As part of the Busselton Christmas Hamper Appeal, College students were encouraged to bring to school non-perishable food items over the course of a week, with a final collection made last Friday.  Every student who wished to put aside their uniform for the day, was required to bring a cash donation, or a food item for that privilege.  The result was an enormous amount of food and close to $270 in cash.  All of the proceeds have been passed along to Cornerstone Church of Christ, who are one of the 6 church groups who are participating in the Hamper Appeal this Christmas.

An assembly held early on Friday gave the students the opportunity to present their donations to Rick Paget, the community pastor at Cornerstone.  He was delighted in the support that the students have made towards this worthy cause.

The Year 10 students, along with Mrs Lisa Smith were responsible for promoting the event amongst students and have every reason to be pleased with the results of their labour.  They made posters, visited classrooms, collected food items, and were a significant reason behind their peer’s enthusiasm in the project.

The Busselton Christmas Hamper Appeal will distribute food parcels to struggling local families during December, and donations of further items can be made through Cornerstone Church of Christ, or any of the other participating church groups.

The first ever Op Shop Hop was held last Friday night, with students from Years 4 – 10 coming along in their op-shop finest to dance and laugh the night away.

With the aim of raising funds for former student, Emily Hague, who is about to embark on a trip to Russia to work with orphans, students gathered and had a whole lot of fun in the process.

Mr Cameron and Mrs Robinson hosted the evening, which saw $230 heading Emily’s way.

According to Mr Cameron, there were a number of highlights of the evening.  Everyone singing ‘Sugar Sugar’, the flexibility of some very bendy people in the limbo, and the competitiveness exhibited by participants in the musical bobs and musical chair events.  Apparently the staff doing the ‘Twist’ was also something to behold.

Thanks also to student Zac Desira for the photos of the event.

A great night for everyone involved.