Pulteney Grammar School students have put their words into action in support of AnglicareSA’s Christmas Hamper drive following a national prize in the annual Pens Against Poverty writing competition.
Pens Against Poverty is coordinated with the support of Anglicare Australia for Years 3-10 student participation as an official activity of Anti-Poverty Week.
Submitting a combination of poetry and stories, the Year 6 students from Pulteney impressed the judges so much, the school was awarded the ‘John Foulcher School Award’ which recognises high quality writing across all student entries.
Pulteney received a $500 cheque and a Certificate of Excellence acknowledging their participation.
Teacher Matthew King says the students were thrilled to win the award and were determined to put the prize money to good use.
“We gave them a budget and we walked into the city and each students bought supermarket items for the AnglicareSA Christmas Hampers,” he said.
“They were also given a budget to purchase toys to include in the hampers.”
The writing competition encourages schools, teachers, and students to become educated in the important issues of poverty and homelessness in our communities, while nurturing brave young voices through creative writing.
It demonstrates the power of poetry and fiction to heighten empathy and humanity through creative writing.
For Lily, 12, the writing competition gave her an opportunity to reflect on the many needs of people facing poverty in our community.
“It’s hard because some people become homeless through poverty and they don’t know where they will be sleeping each night,” Lily said. “If I had a pot of gold, I’d buy blankets and clothes for anyone who needs it to help keep them warm.
“I’d also start up an organisation like AnglicareSA where they support homeless people or people living in poverty.”