Digging deep: Blackfriars’ fundraising efforts win praise

When it comes to school-based giving, the Blackfriars community is among the most generous in South Australia.

According to the me4u website – which celebrates the fundraising efforts of SA’s Catholic schools – the Blackfriars community donated almost $17,000 to Catholic Charities between 2016 and 2022, behind only St Dominic’s.

In 2023, Blackfriars was one of the top school-based donors, raising a further $2755 for charities including the Hutt St Centre and Centacare Catholic Family Services.

Those totals do not include the almost $20,000 raised since 2021 for The Mary Potter Foundation through Blackfriars Greatest Shave and the Walk for Love.

Students, from left, Jason Pham, Anthony Phuy, Nathan Bishop and James Roissetter ahead of last year’s Walk for Love for The Mary Potter Foundation Inc.

In 2023, the school community also helped raise more than $130,000 to help a staff member’s son access life-changing surgery in the US and, over the past three years, has donated more than $5000 to HeartKids SA.

“I am happy to say that Blackfriars Priory School has been one of our top donors for 2023,” said Christina Francis, the Manager of Catholic Charities at the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.

“We really appreciate the effort put in by students and staff.”

2023 Prefects, from left, Harrison Dallimore, Harry Boyd-Turner, Reuben Calleja, Nathan Sewart, Danny Nguyen, Hudson Cosgrove, Ben Herbert and Jonathan Hoang at Blackfriars Greatest Shave.

Blackfriars Assistant Principal: Religious Identity and Mission Angela Collins was proud of the school community’s spirit of giving.

“At Blackfriars, we have always supported events such as St Dominic’s Day, Walk a Mile and Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion,” Ms Collins said.

That generosity extended to the annual St Vincent de Paul Winter and Christmas appeals.

“The donations of toys and food items to the 2023 Vinnies Christmas Appeal were invaluable … helping 180 people, 100 of whom were children, during the festive season,” Ms Collins said.

Primary students during last year’s Project Compassion fundraiser.

Principal David Ruggiero said the Dominican Pillar of Community was at the core of who we were at Blackfriars.

“We acknowledge and appreciate our God-given gifts and we constantly and consistently dig deep to find ways to help those who may not be so fortunate,” Mr Ruggiero said.

He was “so proud” of the fundraising efforts of the Blackfriars community: “Long may they continue.”

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the start of Lent and Caritas Australia’s 2024 Project Compassion campaign.

What is Project Compassion?

Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s main annual fundraising campaign. It mobilises Australians to raise much-needed funds to help alleviate poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the world.

Held during Lent, the six-week period before Easter, Catholic schools, Parishes, and the wider Australian public participate in a diverse range of fundraising activities and events to support Caritas Australia’s programs both overseas and here with our First Australian partners.

Project Compassion is an extraordinary demonstration of the faith, empathy and generosity of our supporters. It is the lifeblood of Caritas Australia; without it, we could not do the vital work that we do.

Source: Caritas Australia