Communitas report

Communitas: making a difference

Walk for a Week 2021

Despite the challenges of another lockdown-affected year, the St Hilda’s community banded together in the spirit of Communitas to give back to the broader community through a variety of charity and fundraising events.

Kicking off in April, we formed a Lifeblood team and began routine trips to the blood bank to donate much-needed blood and plasma. This initiative gained momentum as the year progressed, cultivating in a landslide victory in the Intercollegiate Blood Drive and an amazing total of 102 donations for the year which will go on to save around 306 lives. Walk for a Week returned to the calendar in August, where we challenged the College to always have at least one student walking around the front and back quads for a full week. In total, we managed to cover approximately 870km across the 168 hours, and raise $4,259 for the McGrath Foundation and its invaluable breast cancer care.

At the beginning of September, resident hairdressers Fred Hughes and Mali Gordon gave around 30 St Hilda’s students and tutors dashing mullets to support the Black Dog Institute’s Mullets for Mental Health initiative. As well as raising a staggering $11,389 to support the organisation’s life-saving work, this event triggered incredibly important conversations about mental health and raised awareness around this important topic in our community. The grand finale for the year was Gala Night, where we ran a talent auction that sold some of the best skills and items from within the College. Ranging from a whiskey tasting night to customised crochet items, the auction drew significant interest and raised a huge total of $6,148 for the Sony Foundation. We have also been contacting a wide range of businesses, sporting teams, alumni, and parents to source some amazing items for an online auction that will launch early next year. The amazing team of Charity Convenors (Oliver Merchant, Zara Williams, India Veevers, and Holly McGrath) and I would like to thank everyone in the St Hilda’s community that made these events possible and contributed in whatever way they could. We have been able to make a significant contribution to the community around us during tough times, and we hope that giving back and service will continue to be at the heart of St Hilda’s values moving forward.

Naomi Luhan particpating in the 2021 Intercollegiate Blood Drive We have been able to make a significant contribution to the community around us during tough time.

Luke Williams

Communitas Director 2021