Recently there’s something besides Covid being spread in our community – kindness.

Each year in the Graeme Dingle Foundation programmes there are “Community Projects” to help the students give back to the community in some way. In Stars here at Marlborough Girls’ College each of the twelve Year 9 Whānau Classes have been busily planning their projects with their Peer Mentors – ready to put the plans into action on Wednesday 24th August during the college’s “Hauora Week”.

Stars Coordinator, Gemma Miller, explains: 

“Our Community Projects are student-led, so each of the Whānau Classes has spent time thinking about who in our community we can make a difference for, and how. For example, some of our students thought about how the pandemic has made social isolation worse for our elderly so we have two classes going out to connect with the residents at rest homes”.

“Others volunteered to help local charities like Crossroads and Women’s Refuge, making packs for the paediatric ward at Wairau Hospital, doing a clean-up along the Taylor River – and lots more! It’s been really inspiring watching the students engaged with paying it forward and making our community better in some way.”

“And in fact, the research shows that volunteering and helping others can positively benefit your own mental health – so that fits in really nicely with the wellbeing lessons we’ve been learning in Stars too.”