For 5 weeks in November and December, a group of S4 pupils at Stromness Academy took part in Get Ready to Volunteer. They learned about the benefits of volunteering and the kinds of opportunities they could get involved in, before working on their own project. For this they organised a donation drive to create pamper packs to benefit women supported by Women’s Aid Orkney.
To promote the donation drive, the group of 4 pupils made posters to display around the school and drafted posts for the school bulletin and Facebook page. They also arranged collections from set drop off points. Pupils and staff could leave their donated items at locations in the school and members of the public used collection points in the school lobby, at the Stromness Co Op and in the VAO office reception.
The response was exceptional, and at their final session the group were able to give Women's Aid Orkney 32 pamper packs, as well as some larger items. As a finishing touch, the group made little Christmas cards which they included in each pack.
A pupil said of the project:
It was fun and we learned about the different kinds of volunteering. It was really surprising how many people donated and how much stuff we got, but we loved getting to make the packs and cards and hand them over to Women’s Aid.
The pupils were supported by Support for Learning teachers Mrs Nixon and Mrs Lea, whose infectious enthusiasm spurred the pupils on. Mrs Nixon said:
The pupils should all be really proud of themselves for all the work they did to make this happen. They all brought something to this project – different skills and talents made for an excellent team.
Kristel Grogan from Women’s Aid Orkney said:
A massive thank you from us all at WAO. We were in no way expecting that amount and the thought and care that has gone into each individual package is very special indeed. This time of year can be really hard for the people we support and I hope everyone is extremely proud of themselves. This will have such a positive impact this Christmas!
Eilidh Wilkinson, VAO's Youth Development Coordinator ran the Get Ready to Volunteer course at Stromness Academy. She said:
It’s been super working with this group at Stromness Academy – they’ve been enthusiastic, taken ownership of their project and given time out of their usual classes to make it the best they can be. We are really grateful to be able to run the course at the academy. Our thanks go to Jen Nixon and Lorna Lea for their input and support and to Kristel and Shannon from Women’s Aid Orkney for coming to meet the pupils.
