Making a difference.

After two months of preparation and anticipation, ninety boys from Year 8 and 9 braved a cold winter night by ‘sleeping rough’ on campus. The skies were clear and the wind was light but luckily, we did not get the freezing temperatures that we had last year and earlier in the week.

The boys arrived on campus by 6.00pm and gathered at the Heritage Room for the first part of the evening. Mr Richards gave a brief welcome and briefing which was followed by a workshop run by the Salvation Army. It was during this part of the night that boys learned about the causes, conditions and experiences of homelessness which gave them a better idea of how their donations would be spent.

After the workshop, the Doorways Street Van arrived to serve a simple dinner which consisted of a hot pie, sandwich, fruit and milo. The food was prepared at the Doorways Depot by Lisa Kennedy with the help of two students, James Bergin and Alex Kennedy and two other Doorways volunteers. Mrs Kennedy is one of the team leaders for the Aquinas Breakfast Patrols. After dinner, the boys had a short break and regrouped again for a final reflection. At 9.45pm they were divided into four groups to go to their sleeping areas. It was lights out by 10pm but the usual chatter took a while to subside and then it was time to sleep. The boys were woken at 6.00am the next morning and then made their way to the Heritage Room to pick up a light snack and say a final farewell.

There are many people to thank for this event. In addition to the Doorways team and workshop presenters, we thank Browne’s Dairy (under the direction of Marie Ainsworth) for donating choc milks, yoghurts and milk for the morning snack. Browne’s also gave extra product for the weekend’s Breakfast Patrols which fed about 80 people. This massive donation kept the operating expenses for the sleepout to an absolute minimum, which meant that more money could go to where it was really needed.

We also thank Mr Stephen Spiteri, Mr Brian Tonkin, Mr John Van Dyk and Mr Duncan Warlters for supervising the boys overnight. Finally, a big thank you to Mr Paul Rich and a small group of Service Council volunteers led by Jonah Smith (Captain of Service) for all their help.

This year’s sleepout raised a staggering amount of approximately $24,000!! With the addition of the Aquinas Online Store this year, it allowed students to attract sponsorship from far and wide. More importantly, this money will go directly to agencies that help those who are sleeping rough, provide emergency shelters and support families who are struggling to buy food.

Well done boys!