The new school year can be an exciting but stressful time for families, with significant expenditures including new uniforms, school shoes and supplies. In Australia, one in six young people are impacted by poverty, resulting in many students attending schools without the necessary supplies and often without lunch.
As the Rosebud community prepare for a new school year, Charter Hall’s Rosebud Plaza created an immersive school holiday experience with a philanthropic twist.
In January, the newly re-developed shopping centre held a free in-centre school holiday activation, where little attendees were able to create and decorate their own lunchboxes. For each lunchbox decorated throughout the period, Rosebud Plaza has donated a lunchbox full of school snacks to local community organisation Vinnies Kitchen – to provide to those in need within its community.
Vinnies Kitchen, which has supported the Rosebud Community since 1992, serves three-course dinners and lunches every week for members of the community, youth and those who need a little extra support. Vinnies Kitchen supplies and serves 180 people per week from the Shire’s Youth Band Hall at 980 Point Nepean Road, Rosebud.
Rosebud Plaza’s Marketing Manager, Hannah Kuhlmann said, “When reaching out to Vinnies Kitchen to identify how best we could contribute to the extraordinary work they were already doing, we were humbled to be able to support young families with back-to-school lunch boxes and lunches.”
Woolworths, Rosebud Plaza
Due to the overwhelming support from the community, this week Rosebud Plaza prepared 500 lunchboxes donated by the centre and partnered with Woolworths to fill them to the brim with healthy, non-perishable snacks. The lunches are being distributed to four local Rosebud primary schools by Vinnies Kitchen.
The President of Vinnies Kitchen, Anne Maree Townsend said, “The generous support from Rosebud Plaza, along with the community and the 500 enthusiastic kids who decorated their own lunchbox, will ensure Vinnies ongoing support for many families in our community.”
Rosebud Plaza and Vinnies Kitchen
“Over the past week Vinnies has also received many generous donations, applications to join our volunteer team and positive comments supporting Vinnie’s commitment to the Rosebud community,” said Townsend.
