School Aid
School Aid is a student led philanthropy program that empowers kids to help other kids in need.
School Aid was founded in Australia by Sean Gordon, then Principal of St Patrick’s Catholic School in Bega NSW, who had often reflected on four specific issues, thoughts and experiences that eventually led to the formation of this organisation:
- A genuine wish to do something for people in need around the globe, especially after tragedies such as Kosovo, Turkey, East Timor, September 11
- His educational anxiety as a parent and a teacher about the effect of the major tragedies on the minds of our children
- His national network of principal colleagues (where the power of 11,000 working together is more obvious)
- The Thredbo landslide disaster in 1997. He was SES team leader on site when Stuart Diver was discovered and this gave him a particular perspective on disasters and the effect these have on those involved, and on those who watch.
There are two sides to School Aid’s mission of kids helping kids: ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’. Australian students benefit by fostering and nurturing a sense of compassion and empathy with their peers, increasing their awareness of challenges facing kids around the world, particularly in receiving a proper education, and developing and practising the skills necessary to take action. The children who are the beneficiaries of School Aid’s projects not only receive tangible benefits, such as a new school or much needed supplies, but they also know that they are supported and cared for by Australian students.
To achieve its mission, School Aid's vision is the establishment of a national network of schools involved in student-led giving; and a generation of young people who think broadly and actively about giving and how they can make a difference in their own communities and beyond. Through the support of School Aid projects by such a network, real, genuine improvements can be made to children's educational opportunities and access to schooling around the world.
If every one of the 11,000 schools in Australia raised just $100 for a School Aid project, over a million dollars will have been raised!
School Aid was officially launched in Australia in April 2003 by the then Queensland Education Minister, Ms Anna Bligh.
Since then, Aussie kids have proved themselves more than capable of achieving extraordinary results. Through School Aid, Australian students have already:
- Raised $170,000 to support the victims in the aftermath of Cyclone Larry
- Raised $260,000 and built a school in Banda Aceh, following the Indian Ocean tsunami
- Raised $250,000 and re-opened a vocational school and youth centre in Dili, East Timor
- Raised $463,000 and built the Friendship Park' in Beslan, following terrorist attacks in 2004, as well as thousands of letters of support sent from Australian students
Current Projects include:
Send school kits to Burma
School children Kundangon
Hundreds of thousands of children were left without schools in Burma, following the devastating Cyclone Nargis. Funds raised will provide school kits to restart schooling in Burma.
Send a Message of Hope
Children in Burma huddle under a makeshift shelter.
The recent cyclone in Burma and earthquake in China have torn apart the lives of many children and their families. Children are encouraged to send a Message of Hope to survivors in Burma and China through School Aid.
Support Students in China
Help students affected by the recent earthquake in China rebuild their lives.
School Aid will provide the opportunity for Australian schools to help rebuild education, and connect with quake-affected students.
The School Aid Website contains a mass of details on how schools can become involved, including resource kits for student leadership groups and for teachers wishing background information. Videos of previous projects are also on-line and can be used as student motivation.
School Aid has the full backing of both Secondary and Primary Principal Associations from all three sectors. Catholic schools are actively encouraged to Wake Up a Project and assist School Aid. Visit www.schoolaid.org.au.
Corporate Sponsor
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