HomeCommunityMore than 1000 kids helped back to school

More than 1000 kids helped back to school

School Savvy
Jessie Johnstone gets a hair cut from Stevie Jane at the School Savvy Pop-Up Shop.

More than 600 families across Central Queensland benefited from some financial relief during the week of School Savvy CQ’s pop-up shops.

Parents, grandparents, guardians and children from across Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Capricorn Coast and Mount Morgan attended the shops which featured low-cost stationery and pre-loved uniforms kindly donated by the local community.

Local hair stylists also donated their time to provide free hair cuts to the children to help them look and feel great for their first day back at school.

School Savvy CQ assistant coordinator Danielle Mitchell said the whole week was an amazing success, helping local families give their kids the best chance for a great education and future.

“We saw wonderful gestures of gratitude shared throughout the week. People were very appreciative, expressing their thanks for helping to get their child get ready for the school year – at times it was quite emotional,” she said.

“The project has helped more than 1450 people across Rockhampton, the Capricorn Coast and Mount Morgan with more than 500 students assisted for the start of the school year.

“The Spirit of School Savvy is well and truly alive in the region. It’s great to see that the community wants to give every child the opportunity to optimise their education.”

Although the shops are now closed for the 2020 year, the team are already looking to the future to prepare for the 2021 back to school period.

Bundaberg’s first School Savvy CQ proved a great success with more than 1370 people in attendance, helping more than 300 families and 550 children in the region.

Danielle explained the need for this initiative is motivation for the project to grow and expand to other regions in 2021.

“We have a lot of work to do in the interim – discussing how we can improve the initiative and help the community for next year. Every child deserves an education – it’s a basic human right that we can provide to them at a community level,” she said.

The School Savvy CQ team wished to thank their sponsors, local businesses and the wider community for the generosity and support in getting behind the School Savvy initiative.

“It’s quite overwhelming to see so many people wishing to help the struggling families within their local community,” Danielle said.

“We are happily accepting donations throughout the year for our 2021 pop up shops – it’s never too early to donate.”

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