St Augustine’s Primary School pupils have ditched convention in favour of “crazy hair” to help out a friend in need.
When one of the Keilor school’s pupils, Noah, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, the community quickly rallied.
St Augustine student wellbeing leader Jodie Velardo said community support got the wheels in motion for a fundraising event.
“This is the first time a significant illness has impacted our school and the outpouring of messages from the community was amazing,” Ms Velardo said.
“We had lots of parents calling up the school asking how they could help. It was really overwhelming, so we decided to hold a crazy hair day.
“We also wanted to provide a greater awareness of the impact that leukemia has on children and their families.”
On the day, students were able to have their hair sprayed with coloured spray in exchange for a coin donation.
The event was a massive success with the school of 267 pupils raising more than $2000.
“The family were overwhelmed by the support of the community,” Ms Velardo said. “They actually requested the money go to the Leukemia Foundation.”
While the crazy hair was hard to miss,
Ms Velardo said the day was full of other highlights.
“Noah came to school that day, which was absolutely fantastic,’ she said. “He hadn’t come for a little while, so to see him there was special.”
Ms Velardo said a strong sense of community shone through when it counted most.
“The whole fundraising event had a really strong community feel,” she said. “It’s really reassuring to be part of such a caring community. That’s what we’re about – we’re a small community there for one another in all different times of need.”
