Prior Park College Raises Over £2000 for DEC Philippines Appeal
07 Jan 2014
Staff, pupils and parents at Prior Park College succeeded in raising over £2000 for the DEC Philippines Appeal, taking part in numerous fundraising activities over the course of last Friday.
The day began with a visit from a senior member of Clifton’s CAFOD office, who came in to speak to pupils in the lower school, discussing with them the impact that the typhoon has had on the Philippines, what CAFOD has already done to support those who are still suffering and, finally, what individuals can still do to help.
The rest of the day saw an enormous effort from the whole school as a community, pulling together to raise as much as possible for this worthy cause. Pupils threw themselves into various activities throughout the day, including; senior school boys having their leg waxed in the College’s theatre, a raffle, a hot chocolate and cake sale at break time, wearing mufti to school, placing different currencies on a map of the Philippines and darts throwing. The most successful event was held by one of the boarding houses, Roche House, who arranged a 24hr cycle challenge, where staff and pupils from the house took it in turns to cycle an hour leg each, starting at 5.00pm on Thursday evening. This was a huge undertaking by everyone involved and the boys were handsomely recompensed for their efforts, by raising over £1200 for the cause alone!
Although the grand total is yet to be announced, £2000 has already been confirmed, with a few more events yet to be counted. The Headmaster, James Murphy-O’Connor comments: “There was a special feel to last Friday, with every member of our community in some way giving of their time and effort, or making a donation. While the staff led a number of the fundraising initiatives, many of our students also came up with ideas and made them happen. It is that initiative, and that determination to help others, that sets our community apart. £2000 pounds in the space of 24 hours – we are proud of our efforts and pray that the people of the Philippines will find the strength and the courage to recover from this disaster.”