The Committee of Management of the Victorian School Canteen Association (VSCA) was deeply concerned for the welfare of school canteen people in schools and communities affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires. As well as several schools being completely destroyed, other schools were damaged or smoke affected. Mains power was lost for days in many areas. Some areas operated for weeks in a limited fashion with only intermittent power supply from generators. Many schools were closed for extended periods as the bushfires raged and the threat continued. Some schools stretched their resources and became relief centres for their surrounding communities. At a time when school canteens were fully stocked for the beginning of the school year, these ongoing disruptions severely impacted on the storage of perishable foods and on canteen operations.
While insurance may cover some losses, there is no compensation for the extra work, time and energy required by individual canteen staff and their helpers to "make things good" again. These are people just like you and me - already under pressure, hardworking and dedicated. They themselves may have suffered personal losses in the fires, but for the sakes of their school communities, they have picked themselves up, rolled up their sleeves, tied on their aprons and got back into rebuilding and restoring their canteens.
The VSCA Committee applauds those involved for their courage and dedication to feeding and nurturing their students and communities, and extends our compassionate best wishes for their ongoing efforts.
Thank you to those who helped
To express our concerns and support in a tangible way, the Victorian School Canteen Association (VSCA) became a registered fundraiser (# 9824) to raise funds to assist bushfire affected school canteens in Victoria. We thank the following donors for their contributions:
23/04/09
Flexi Schools
$70.00
11/05/09
Nichirei Australia
$20.00
3/06/09
Kelly Neville, Nutrition Australia
$30.00
17/07/09
WA School Canteen Association
- Ashburton Drive Primary School, Gosnells, WA
- Central Midlands Senior High School, Moora, WA
- John Calvin Christian School, Armadale, WA
- Katanning Senior High School, Katanning, WA
- Kolbe Catholic College, Rockingham, WA
- Shelley Primary School, Shelley, WA
- St Anthony's Primary School, Wanneroo, WA
- St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School, Port Hedland, WA
- anonymous individual donors$1706.00
24/07/09
The Pines School, Parafield Gardens, SA
$50.00
30/07/09
Glen Katherine Primary School, North Eltham, Vic
$272.50
11/08/09
Narara Public School, Lisarow, NSW
$30.00
24/11/09
Chatham PS, Surrey Hills, Victoria
$100.00
Prue Cerin of VSCA (left) receives a large cheque for the VSCA bushfire appeal from Western Australian donors at the
2009 Western Australian School Canteen Association Conference.Exemplary efforts
Special thanks go to the following individuals, schools and companies for their extra-ordinary efforts to support this appeal.
Glen Katherine Primary School, North Eltham, Victoria
At the end of Term 2 2009, Glen Katherine Primary School canteen managers Desie McKinnon and Suzi Cunningham organised a special lunch day for the VSCA Bushfire Appeal. 50 cents from each lunch order was donated to the appeal, raising a total of $272.50.
Narara Public School, Lisarow, NSW
Jacqui Meredith, Treasurer of the P&C, forwarded a cheque for $30.00 as a donation from their school. Their school motto is "We Care".
The Pines School, Parafield Gardens, SA
Sue Lowe, canteen manager, The Pines School said "We held a fundraising day in the canteen by selling cups of freshly made popcorn. The ingredients and paper cups had been kindly donated by my volunteer mums. This day was held because we wanted to help the communities affected by the bushfires. When we read the article in the Canteen News titled 'Time to lend a helping hand', we decided that the $50 raised would go to helping another canteen. We hope this money can help in some way. We had a fire about 18 months ago and even though the situations cannot be compared, we are aware of the hard work involved to get back to restoring the canteens."
Not too late!
The VSCA 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal closes on the 16th November. Send your cheque or money order to VSCA, or phone us to pay by credit card or direct deposit.
Grants to be announced
Recipients of the grants will be announced at VSCA's Annual Canteen Rewards Evening on 30 November, 2009.
