Giving and being a blessing in the community is at the heart of what Cedars Christian College holds most dearly.
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So naturally the Farmborough Heights-based college knew giving back to its community was the best way to celebrate Cedars' 40th anniversary.
On Thursday the college launched its 40 Years - 40 Ways to Give initiative.
Fittingly a Biggest Morning Tea event to raise funds for the Cancer Council was the first of 40 ways Cedars was giving back to its community.
Long-serving and much-loved teacher Sharon Scott is battling breast cancer.
"We love Sharon. She's going through a tough time of it at the moment but the good news is she will be coming back to work next term. Her battle is not over but we are all here to support her," Cedars Christian College principal Steve Walton said.
"This [fundraiser] is just one way we can show that to her as well. But there wouldn't be a family in our school community that hasn't been touched by cancer, so it is a really important one to start off with and we are happy to support her and others who have been afflicted with the disease."
Deputy principal Julie Cochrane added students and staff had come up with the 40 ways the college can give back to the community, including holding "Cedars Biggest Sleepout" on Friday to raise much-needed funds for the Salvation Army Appeal.
"We are doing things that are as simple as letterboxing our neighbours and giving them coffee vouchers to thank them for being courteous to us, especially around times when there is a lot of traffic," Mrs Cochrane said.
"We have a group of students who are knitting and making blankets for residents in retirement village across the road.
"We've also got groups who are planting trees and giving to the community and the environment."
Mr Walton added the college had 40 years to be grateful for and to celebrate.
"Not by saying 'look at us and how good we are', but instead by asking the question, 'how can we give back?" he said.
"We've always been a school that wanted to set our kids up for more in life than just thinking about themselves.
"We want them to be leaders in their community and to make a difference in their community. To do that you need to care about other people."
Mr Walton added the college had for 40 years taught its students from Prep to year 12 those same lessons.
"Not just because we've got that faith-based towards our school, we want them to have opportunities to outwork that faith, outwork the lessons that we are teaching in a practical way.
"This year rather than saying 'hey look at us we're 40', we really want to say 'hey we're 40 and we want to give back, we want to raise $40,000 in cash donations or in kind, in service activities to give back to the community'."
This is how Cedars Christian College is giving back:
- Australia's Biggest Morning Tea
- Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal
- Cedars Biggest Sleepout
- Social Justice Market
- Clothing Drive
- Compassion
- Food Bank
- Homeless Hub
- Nursing Home (Marco Polo)
- School Tree Planting Day
- Care Blankets being Knitted for Nursing Home residents
- Wollongong Homeless Hub
- Sahssi - Specialist Homelessness Service supporting vulnerable women and families
- Warrawong Community Centre
- Berkeley Neighbourhood Centre
- International Students stuck here unable to travel home
- Blood Bank
- Women's Shelter
- Giving to our Neighbours
- Koonawarra Women's Group
- Lighthouse Community Kitchen
- Salvos Women's Refuge
- Lighthouse Youth Centre
- Operation Christmas Child
- Clean Up Challenge
- Clean Up Train Station
- Giving back to our founders
- Rise and Shine Environmental Competition
- Orphanage in Indonesia
- Orphanage in Thailand
- Assisted Enrolment help
- Car Wash
- Hike for a cause
- Fun Run
- Karaoke
- Celebrity Chef
- Basketball Celebrity slam dunk competiton
- Tie Dye Fundraiser
- Pie the Principal (sell tickets)
- T-shirt fundraiser with design competition
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