News

Drake PS delivers!

Drake is a small rural community located 51 km east of Tenterfield on the Bruxner Highway in rural New South Wales. The tiny Drake Public School currently has 30 students from Kindergarten through to Year 6.

Drake PS received Australian Government funding back in 2011 to implement the Kitchen Garden Program, but as with all schools there was some shortfall the school needed to supplement the costs of the kitchen and garden. In a small, isolated, community however, the school’s fundraising options are severely limited, so the enterprising Drake PS staff and students have come up with a few ingenious – and highly successful – fundraising methods of their own.

The school formed a fundraising committee, who sent out personal letters to local businesses and organisations asking for help, in the students’ hand-drawn envelopes. The response was amazing, including a $2000 donation from an anonymous donor, and several cheques in the mail that eventually amounted to $7000. The school has received plenty of donated goods to be used as prizes for raffles, including loads of firewood (it gets cold out there!). The school even had a full-page article in the local Northern Star newspaper– and that’s just the beginning.

The fundraising committee held a Glamorous & Outrageous Ball where attendees enjoyed a three-course meal prepared by the students, dancing and lucky door prizes based on the donations received from the community – raising $1400. They prepared a wish-list for the local mines and the students are so eager to get the Program going they even donated their winnings from the local Rock Eisteddfod - $100 is a big deal to primary school students!

The school sees the Program as an excellent way to involve the community in the children’s development, and plans to share the Kitchen Garden Program philosophy with the whole community – so the school gives as well as receives. They are inviting senior members of the community to visit the school and share a meal prepared by the students, passing on stories of how the world has changed since they were at school. They will also invite all friends of the Program to join them for a meal made using vegetables from their garden and cooked by the students.

Drake PS now holds a Kitchen Garden Program meeting with their community partners and parents every 2-3 weeks, where they connect and dream up more fundraising initiatives.

The whole school is so excited by the project, and undaunted by the dedication it involves, it’s hard not to be swept up in their enthusiasm. Congratulations everyone in Drake PS and the community – you’re certainly an inspiration!

If you’d like to help the Drake PS Kitchen Garden Program, please just contact the school.