WITH the establishment of “Thoughtful Thursday”, a community outreach programme which encourages learners at St Francis College to give back to their community, the school has been able to help multiple local charities and in turn instil a sense of gratitude among the learners.
Lorrin Jarvis, who is a parent at the school and the founder of the “Thoughtful Thursday” initiative, said she had established the programme four years ago at the school, as a way of giving back to their local community at least once a week.
She said, as part of the programme, each term the school decided on a local charity or cause to assist.
They then encouraged all learners from the school’s nursery to Grade 7 to donate the necessary items, which they then distributed to the various charities every Thursday.
Jarvis, who has continued to run the programme at the school since its establishment, said at the beginning of each term, she presented information about the charity they planned to support.
In addition, she often invited representatives from the charities to speak at assembly, which gave the learners a better understanding of the charity they were going to support.
She said it was important for the school to embark on this project to expose their learners to the realities of the world and to encourage them to appreciate the fact that they had everything they needed in life.
Since the establishment of the programme, Jarvis said everyone was very supportive.
“The learners needed to be educated about our local charities and understand the hard work put in by volunteers. It has inspired many of them to do their own charity work and to appreciate how lucky they are. We need to instil a ‘good heart’ right from nursery school,” said Jarvis.
Since the programme was established, they have supported St Francis Animal Rescue, a local soup kitchen in Sea Vista during the winter months, Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC) and the Baby Box project at the Sea Vista Clinic.
During the school’s recent charity initiative, they encouraged learners to donate pet food which was then handed over to St Francis Animal Rescue.
“We hope that with their involvement in the school’s community outreach programme, we will be able to instil a sense of being grateful for their lives and to carry the act of charity into their adult lives,” said Jarvis.
“I believe a school can hold such power in their numbers when it comes to donations and a small act of kindness can go a long way.
“Teaching children to give rather than receive should also be taught at home.”
