I am often boasting about the fact that CQUniversity is a university that gives back. Only a couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the fantastic efforts of staff and students in raising more than $17,000 during simultaneous campus lunches, to help support Nepalese earthquake victims.
As well as these large scale efforts, it should also be mentioned that everyday our staff members, individuals and groups, are doing their bit to give back to communities either here in Australia or overseas. They do this by hosting morning teas, asking their colleagues to sponsor them in fun runs, selling chocolates or collecting food and clothing for those less fortunate.
One initiative that has really stood out for me in the past week is the shoe box appeal being run by Early Childhood Education teacher Rosemary Shanks (pictured right).
Rosemary travels a lot as part of her role, particularly to rural and remote areas of outback Queensland. So in recent years she has seen firsthand the devastation that the ongoing drought in this region has caused. People out there are doing it really tough and are often forgotten by those of us in the larger regional and metropolitan centres.
It’s also important to point out that it’s not just the farmers who are struggling but whole communities. The emotional and economic toll this drought has taken can’t be expressed in words. Without the drought breaking there also doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
This weekend just gone Rosemary delivered shoeboxes full of supplies and some luxury items donated by her colleagues at CQUnui, to the community of Ilfracombe (one of the hardest hit by the drought). Each box was backed with items appropriate for a man, woman, child or baby. Even though small, I do hope that each box and its contents put a smile on someone’s face and let that person know that someone is thinking of them.
Well done to Rosemary for driving this initiative and contributing so much yourself!
As well as these large scale efforts, it should also be mentioned that everyday our staff members, individuals and groups, are doing their bit to give back to communities either here in Australia or overseas. They do this by hosting morning teas, asking their colleagues to sponsor them in fun runs, selling chocolates or collecting food and clothing for those less fortunate.
One initiative that has really stood out for me in the past week is the shoe box appeal being run by Early Childhood Education teacher Rosemary Shanks (pictured right).
Rosemary travels a lot as part of her role, particularly to rural and remote areas of outback Queensland. So in recent years she has seen firsthand the devastation that the ongoing drought in this region has caused. People out there are doing it really tough and are often forgotten by those of us in the larger regional and metropolitan centres.
It’s also important to point out that it’s not just the farmers who are struggling but whole communities. The emotional and economic toll this drought has taken can’t be expressed in words. Without the drought breaking there also doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
Well done to Rosemary for driving this initiative and contributing so much yourself!
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