FOR the past few days, Fiona McMullen’s Kensington garage has been slowly filling with boxes of school supplies that are destined for much more relevant homes.
This is the second year of collections for the School Packs Project and the amount of donations appears set to exceed last year’s efforts, where 370 school stationery packs were given to children who are either cared for by their grandparents or escaping violence in Perth refuges.
This year donation boxes for school bags and other stationery were placed at community libraries across Perth throughout the month of September.
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READ NOWMs McMullen said support from 25 libraries had made it easier for more people to donate. As such, she was hoping this year’s project will top 500 bags.
“It really is a combined community effort,” she said.
“These kids are amongst the most vulnerable and often left with nothing due to desperate family circumstances.
Kensington teenager Jasmine Chamberlain became a surprising champion of the cause, convincing a stationery company to donate 200 erasers and gaining enough further donations to personally fill five boxes.
Victoria Park Primary School held a free dress day where they could bring stationery rather than monetary donations, which contributed to a bigger than expected collection at the Victoria Park Library.
Soroptimist International of South Perth has also chipped in $2000 to help organisers purchase any outstanding items needed to complete the packs.
A packing day is planned for later this year before the school supplies are taken to the Women’s Council for Domestic and Family Violence Services for distribution to refuges.