Year 12 Students Volunteer for Local Community
A new initiative has seen an enthusiastic group of Year 12 students take to the local community to volunteer their time for a diverse range of organisations.
The Community Day project, organised in partnership with the Brun Bear Foundation, saw over 60 of our Sixth Formers throwing themselves wholeheartedly into all sorts of activities that benefit local communities.
An impressive 300 hours were accrued between the students, with endeavours including painting, serving lunches, working with young schoolchildren, wildlife conservation and even helping run dance classes, bingo games and building pizza ovens.
The Brun Bear Foundation was established in 2014 by Edwin Lampert to honour his father’s memory through supporting causes he had held dear: medical research, community projects in the London Boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham, and animal welfare.
Feedback from the organisations was extremely positive about the commitment and enthusiasm of our student volunteers, with comments including “The students were polite, enthusiastic, amenable and genuinely hardworking”, “exceptional work from the young people” and “the students were so enthusiastic and did an excellent job painting. They were a pleasure to work with”.
Edwin Lampert, Brun Bear Foundation Director, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Colfe’s on the recent Community Day and are excited about the future collaborations to come. This partnership is a natural evolution of our ongoing work with the school, which includes providing students with valuable work placements, mentoring, and internships. It was a pleasure to attend the Community Day in person and witness the remarkable contributions made by the students. We were truly inspired by their dedication, and it was heartwarming to see the extent to which their efforts were appreciated by the participating organisations. We look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership with Colfes and creating more meaningful opportunities for students to thrive and make a positive impact in the community.”
Zoe Kendrick, Director of School Partnerships and Head of Religion and Philosophy, who co-ordinated the project for Colfe’s, said: “We are so proud of this industrious and energetic group of students. The importance of community is at the heart of what Colfe’s is about, and being able to take part hands-on is the best way for our pupils to see what this means in practice. They each undertook the various jobs in great spirit, and could see for themselves the difference this makes. I think without exception they also got a great deal out of the experience themselves. Many of the students have said they are keen to continue volunteering, and we look forward to further collaboration with the Brun Bear Foundation.”
Taking on a voluntary journalist role, Eleanor (Y12) shone an advance light on the project with an article for the Brun Bear Foundation website, and also gave an account of the day as a roving reporter: Students Make a Difference in Local Community