St Catherine’s students and staff donned their boots, jeans, hats and checked shirts today as part of our ‘Dress Like a Farmer’ drought relief fundraiser.

Today’s fundraising effort was a school wide initiative led by the Years 9 and 10 Global Conflict and Cooperation class and our Year 6 Barbreck students.

Students and staff were encouraged to dress in farm style and donate $5.00 towards the drought relief efforts. The Year 9 and 10 Global Conflict and Cooperation class set a target of raising $2,000 to support struggling farmers and their families across Australia.

Half of the funds raised will be donated to Drought Angels with the money used to purchase vouchers for families to use for bills, medical expenses, school costs and stock feed. The second half will be donated to Rural Aid with the money used to supply mental health services, hay bales, water and stock feed to struggling farmers.

As a boarding school for many years, St Catherine’s has long associations and family connections in many rural communities in Victoria and New South Wales. As such, it is appropriate that as a school in the city, we support these regions and raise awareness amongst our students to the challenges the Australian farmers currently face. Members of the School community are also welcome to donate today and next week at the Senior School reception or through the Drought Angels website or Rural Aid website.

In appreciation of the School’s efforts, I share below the email received this week from one of our farming families:

A huge thank you for the terrific effort the School is making to increase awareness of this terrible drought that is ravaging so much of our country.

While I do read often that the very best of farmers are prepared for drought and that the financial support is not warranted – these stories often forget that no matter how well prepared, there is always heartache. Heartache that years of hard work to build the ideal herd disappears as you have to sell down stock, heartache that your expensive crops have withered and died, heartache that your days are filled with the monotony of feeding stock rather than progressing your farm, heartache that the treats you had planned for your children have to be put on hold another year – or more.

That said, many farmers are doing it tough financially – and not because they are not the best at what they do on their own land, often just because. Perhaps the land they have farmed for generations is not quite as productive as it needs to be in this new competitive world or they are a small business and do not have access to huge amount of capital and resources to build their business or as a sole operator they have made mistakes. And for even the very best who are managing financially to work hard for a year with no reward challenges the strongest.

Farming is tough – even when the weather is kind. But the farmers keep us fed, they keep us clothed and they ensure those special occasions can be celebrated with a wine or bubbly.

It is wonderful that a school in the middle of Melbourne with so many ties to the country has chosen to remind its students of the role farmers play and to support them during this awful time.

On behalf of Nick and our girls, and St Catherine’s farming families past and present – thank you.

Melissa Sweetland (’86)