Seeing joy on children’s faces is what school chaplain Donna Shearing loves most about her role at Back Plains and Clifton state schools on the Darling Downs.

“My happiest moments are always when I see change for the better in a student’s life,” the eight-year chappy veteran said.

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With one in five boys finding school disengaging, there is a real need for support in the schoolyard as they transition from adolescence into manhood.

Thanks to your support, Chappy Lindsay at Aspley State School has developed a ‘Mini Men’s Shed’ to help Year 3 to Year 6 boys develop confidence and self-awareness, while also acquiring key life skills. (more…)

On the verge of dropping out of school amidst an unstable home life and issues in the schoolyard, Cheyenne found the strength to motivate herself – thanks to help from her chappies.

Growing up on Stradbroke Island, Cheyenne struggled to make friends, found schoolwork difficult, and rarely felt loved or accepted. There were periods where she struggled to make it through each day. (more…)

What difference can one little girl make in a world full of problems?

This question led Chappy Rosalie to start ‘Petite Sisterhood’ – a group purposed to inspire girls in Prep and Year 1 at Narangba Valley State School.

“It all started around the idea that just because you’re little, doesn’t mean you can’t make the world a better place,” Rosalie recalls.

Rosalie runs the program one lunchtime per week, where the girls do different activities to spread kindness around the school and the wider community. This has included making bookmarks, encouragement notes for teachers, a thank you banner for the school cleaners and a ‘box of sunshine’ for the principal.

“One of the more practical activities is when the girls help make 50 homeless lunch packs, which I take and deliver to a local community action centre,” Rosalie says. (more…)

For a lot of students, starting high school can feel like you’re a little fish swimming in a big pond. Stinson Whittler found himself in the same boat when he first arrived at Ferny Grove State High School.

Stinson began his high school years struggling with low self esteem and debilitating social anxiety.

Thanks to your support Chappy Sam was by his side to help him along the journey.

“When I started at my new school I was really socially awkward and didn’t want to talk to anyone,” Stinson recalls. (more…)

As the Christmas lights faded on the eve of 2015, Mike McMillan entered the New Year feeling empty and directionless.

Two months earlier he lost his wife, who he nursed through a five-year long battle with cancer. This very same woman was the one who saved him from a life of self-destruction, alcoholism and violence.

Suddenly, he faced a future without her – with four children to care for.

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Australia’s great outback has been long romanticised through the works of some of our greatest writers.

From the image of the lone stockman facing off against the elements to the larrikin characters of the bush who whimsically made light of their adversity, we Australians have revelled in this caricature.

For most of us this image is a mirage, far removed from our reality. (more…)

You may recall the story of Violet and school chaplains Kylie and Sarah from our recent End of Financial Year Appeal.

What we weren’t able to share with you at the time was the beautiful relationship Violet formed with a would-be classmate at Bald Hills State School…

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It’s a heart-breaking scene watching your child cling desperately to you on their first day of school.

For many children, this soon passes as you transition from being their safe harbour to their transportation provider.

But for some children, like Ruby from Brisbane’s western suburbs, the struggle lasts longer.

In fact, it was something that she struggled with through to Year 5. (more…)

As Australians, April 25 – ANZAC Day – holds a special place in our hearts. It’s a day for us to pause and honour those brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our nation.

For many of us, it’s a sacrifice we can honour from a distance. For Oonoonba State School chaplain, Ros Parker, whose school hosts families stationed at Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks, she sees the impact of this sacrifice through the eyes of the children she supports.

“Within weeks of me starting [here], we had a father who was deployed overseas, killed in action… I will never forget walking into a classroom and seeing this little girl sitting next to the child, who had lost his father. She was trying to comfort him, all while knowing her father was over in the same place. (more…)