• Our Schools

Into the Streets

St Paul’s College offers an outreach programme, Make the Difference (MTD), in which students of all ages can come together and work on projects which will help the underprivileged community. A recent project, which the group became involved in, was the Street Store, which gave the community an opportunity to donate old and new clothes and shoes.
The MTD group collected donations from the St Paul’s community and spent one afternoon per week preparing the clothes for the Street Store. All items received were sorted, labelled, hung, packed and checked to ensure that they were still in a good condition for other people to use.
On the day of the Street Store, volunteers had to be at the venue early enough to unpack the clothes and prepare for when our shoppers arrived. Shoppers were given tickets, which ensured that they only took a certain number of garments so that everybody had the opportunity to receive something. After they had “shopped”, they had a barbeque lunch and lounged in the area. A jumping castle was also set up for the children.
The Street Store’s main aim was to allow the underprivileged community to feel like they are regular shoppers. The shoppers had the opportunity to walk around, take what they liked and needed in exchange for a ticket. The shoppers also had the opportunity to fit on the clothes and shoes.
The Street Store was an eye-opening experience for St Paul’s students because it made them aware of the number of people who aren’t as privileged as they are and that there are many ways in which the community can come together in helping those in need.