Students from Melbourne’s Parade College are supporting MacKillop Family Services’ Paws4Kids matched giving day through fundraising initiatives like selling beanies to raise money for therapy dogs to help vulnerable kids with their learning.
Students from Melbourne’s Parade College are supporting MacKillop Family Services’ Paws4Kids matched giving day through fundraising initiatives like selling beanies to raise money for therapy dogs to help vulnerable kids with their learning.
Paws4Kids supports MacKillop’s Paw Pals program, which works with therapy dogs to help vulnerable children who are currently disengaged, or at risk of disengaging, from education to manage their emotions and behaviour, improve their confidence and reconnect with their education.
Paws4Kids takes place on Wednesday 28 April, when every dollar donated will be tripled by generous matching partners to raise $250,000 for Paw Pals.
Parade College, which has two campuses in the northern suburbs of Melbourne at Bundoora and Preston, supported Paws4Kids by donating $5 per beanie from the sale of 1125 school beanies to raise $5625 for the program.
Nichole Alfreds, Fundraising Manager for MacKillop, said the funds raised will enable the program to support more children who need help to stay engaged with education.
“The past year has been really tough for many children and young people who have experienced trauma or who cannot live safely in their own homes. Education settings can be particularly challenging for these vulnerable young people, especially when their normal supports could not be in place because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“Our therapy dogs provide a lifeline to many children and young people in out of home care by ensuring they continue a valuable link to their education. Funds raised through Paws4Kids will enable us to expand the program and people can donate to Paws4Kids from now to Wednesday 28 April when donations received will be tripled by our matching partners,” added Ms. Alfreds.
Every donation to Paws4Kids will be tripled by a group of generous matching partners, until the goal of $250,000 to fund the continuation of the program is reached. This means for every $10 donated to Paws4Kids, MacKillop will receive $30 for the Paw Pals program when donations are tripled by our matching partners: PETstock Assist (Major Partner), Queensland Community Foundation’s Gordon Home for Boys and Girls Inc. Trust Fund, Bob Stewart of Kew, AMC Commercial Cleaning, Tee-up for Kids Foundation, Give52, and our PawPrints Matching Circle - including Greg Noonan, Angela Rutherford and Daniel O’Connor.
To find out more about Paws 4 Kids, visit Paws4Kids.org.au.
