Scottish Catholic Observer

PRIOR to departing for their summer holidays, school children from across the country presented various charities with large sums of money and essential goods for those less fortunate in the developing world, which had been raised and collected throughout the academic year.

Staff and pupils from Trinity High School in Cambuslang raised more than £6200 throughout Lent and invited representatives from the school’s chosen charities—Kilbryde Hospice, SCIAF, St Andrew’s Hospice, MISSIO, HCPT, Let the Children Live and Mary’s Meals—along to the annual feast day Mass last month to collect cheques.

Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell celebrated the feast day Mass for the school alongside diocesan clergy.

At Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs, the school’s SSVP conference arranged a summer tea party to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The youngsters invited the Provost of East Dunbartonshire Una Walker, sisters from the Little Sisters of the Poor congregation, Fr Eamon Friel from the local St Matthew’s parish, Marie Curie fundraisers, teachers and friends of the school, to join them in raising vital funds.

In East Kilbride, youngsters from Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School filled 116 backpacks and 16 boxes with clothes, shoes and other essential items for Mary’s Meals, the Scottish charity that helps young children in the developing world.

The Mary’s Meals van also paid a recent visit to St Thomas’ Primary School in Neilston, where pupils raised money and filled more than 90 backpacks for the Mary’s Meals backpack project.

Pupils from every class in the school were involved in the project, during which they received help from the school’s pastoral care group and members of the local community.

Mary’s Meals also received a large financial boost from St Patrick’s Primary School in Anderston, Glasgow (above). Through various fundraising activities, St Patrick’s pupils raised a total of £1700 for the charity.

Mary Moran, a volunteer for Mary’s Meals, visited St Patrick’s before the summer to collect the cheque from pupils.

At the end of year Mass at St Margaret’s Academy in Livingston, Cardinal Keith O’Brien learned of the terrific fundraising achievements of school janitor, Paul Cairns.

Mr Cairns managed to raise £1080 by walking the West Highland Way, a sum he donated to the school’s Lourdes fund.

Pupils from St Margaret’s joined the cardinal on the St Andrews and Edinburgh Archdiocesan Lourdes pilgrimage, which departed last Friday. Some of the pupils posed for a picture with the cardinal, Fr Jeremy Bath—parish priest at St Andrew’s Church, Livingston, Jim Cameron, St Margaret’s headteacher, and some of their fellow pupils, including the new St Margaret’s head boy and girl and vice-head boy and girl.