More than $8,000 has been raised for school chaplaincy in Bunbury after a successful raffle and street appeal.
Forty YouthCARE volunteers from all walks of life, sold raffles at shopping centres, churches and schools.
All proceeds raised will go towards chaplaincy in the region.
South West coast area chaplain David Cunniffe said he was thankful for the fabulous community support.
“We are delighted with the positive response from so many people in the local shopping centres and CBD,” he said.
“They understand the need for this kind of pastoral support for students in our schools.”
There are currently 19 chaplains working in 26 schools in the Bunbury region.
“The Government provides the bulk of the funding for two days of chaplaincy per week, but the High Schools and larger Primary Schools often need more,” Mr Cunniffe said.
“This is where community support kicks in and enables us to meet these needs.”
YouthCARE volunteer and 2017 WA secondary teacher of the year award finalist Tyril Houghton said chaplaincy was an important service for the school community and needed to be supported.
“It was so easy to sell the raffle tickets as the role of the chaplain is highly regarded in our school,” she said.
“Often a student needs someone to hear them out, not solve all of their problems but just be there as a mentor.
“Chaplains encourage the students to maintain good relationships and work out their concerns by sharing them with someone who has the time.
“I have found our chaplain to be amazing at providing invaluable support for my students, enabling them to focus on their schooling when previously they were too distracted by personal issues.”
YouthCARE is WA’s largest provider of chaplains and currently has more than 380 chaplains in nearly 600 state schools.