Diggers Rest Primary School students are the leading force behind a new school-wide fundraiser.
The student leadership team have organised a drive throughout term two to create Snuggle Hearts to donate to Joan Kirner Newborn Services at Western Health.
Snuggle Hearts are a 10-15cm heart cut-out of soft cotton or flannelette that both the mother and premature baby can use to smell and connect with each other while they can’t be with each other.
Principal Brad Kemp said the students were inspired to start this initiative after speaking to one of the managers at the newborn service.
“From there they decided that the Snuggle Hearts initiative was going to be the one for them to do quickly this term… and have an impact on something we could actually make and provide for the newborn services so they can be directly used by premature babies and their families to build connection,” he said.
“The main focus is supporting families through challenging times, which obviously the services at Joan Kirner have been used by many families within the Diggers Rest community.”
Students, along with their families have been busy making the snuggle hearts, with Mr Kemp saying they’ve received over 250 snuggle hearts so far – and the school term isn’t even over yet.
“Some of the feedback from the families so far have been really positive because they really enjoyed the opportunity to not just donate money for everything… but this one is something where people can put the time and effort to actually donate something that will be useful for families,” he said.
Mr Kemp said the leadership skills the students have shown throughout the drive has been great to see, and as they gear up for their second fundraiser for Joan Kirner later this year, the school is very proud.
“It builds a real strong sense of belonging and strong sense of connectedness with our local community. The children’s commitment to supporting families in the Diggers Rest network is really strong and it’s something they’re really motivated to have some success with,” he said.
