Fundraising for charity
Tutor Rosie Rendell (left - ex WHS student) with students Azaria (ex WHS student) and Mariaan with their home baking.
PHOTO / Paul Brooks
Students of the Future Pathways class at Training for You held a fundraising venture to benefit SPCA and Rise: Stopping Violence Services.
Held last Thursday in a classroom on the Training For You campus in Ingestre St, the students, who are working towards their New Zealand Certificate in Foundation Skills Level 2, held a bake sale, sold raffles, held a pet photo competition, sold books and a whole lot more for their chosen charities.
“It’s all student-led: they’ve done everything,” says tutor Rosie Rendell. “It’s part of the course programme that they have to put on a fundraising event for the charity of their choice. So right from day one they were researching Whanganui charities and then have to promote the charity they like to the rest of the class.
“The rest is up to them,” she says. Students Azaria and Mariaan provided home baking for sale.
Mariaan says the charities were easy to choose. Rise was a contender because so many of the class had experienced family violence in various ways.
“We want to help all those families that are struggling and too scared to let people know what’s going on.”
“The whole class loves animals,” says Azaria, which is why the SPCA was picked as a charity.
There are six in the Future Pathways class, but the students include Rosie as one of their number, making it seven.
Mariaan says the class has given her much more self confidence and the ability to be more sociable.
“This course is to help us prepare for what we want to do in the future, what we want to achieve.”
It’s hard to believe these confident young women were very shy at the start of the year.
Azaria says that being among friends — as they became — helped them find strength.
“For me, the classes weren’t so big as they were in high school,” says Mariaan. “In a small class the tutor will take time to sit with us, go through everything with us and help us understand the stuff we need to know.”
She says the class is very much like family.
“We argue, laugh and cry, but we’re all very close and happy.”
Mariaan plans to join the navy when she finished her studies.
“Thanks to Rosie I’ve got an idea of what I want to do.”
Azaria has yet to decide on her future. “I’m not sure yet but this course has helped me think of different options. It has given me choices.”
By Paul Brooks
Wanganui Midweek 6/6/18