On Wednesday 19 August, Nagle College staff cooked dozens of meals for St Mary's Parish and the Bairnsdale Corps of the Salvation Army, thanks to a generous donation from Sunrise Rotary Bairnsdale.

East Gippsland has faced hardships this year including drought, bushfires, and two Stage 3 restrictions which have hit some community members especially hard. Mrs Julie Small, Administration Manager at Nagle College and Sunrise Rotary member, approached Mr Neville Powles, Principal, about ways Nagle College could engage and support our local community. Sunrise Rotary Bairnsdale generously agreed to donate funds for meals and Nagle College Canteen staff generously donated their time and kitchen.

With the College Canteen closed due to remote learning, Canteen and Food Tech staff have been able to provide support in other areas of the College, including cooking for this valuable cause. Chili con carne, lemon honey chicken and pasta bakes were a few of the meals prepared and presented to Fr Michael Willemsen, St Mary's Parish Priest, Captain Dave Jones, Salvation Army and Mr John Fallon, President of Sunrise Rotary Bairnsdale.

Captain Jones was thankful for the donations, commenting "The Salvation Army relies heavily on community generosity. The meals provided by Nagle College and Sunrise Rotary will allow us to provide both delicious and nutritious meals quickly to those in need within the East Gippsland community."

Sunrise Rotary Club President John Fallon said “I am delighted that Sunrise Rotary could partner with Nagle College and their canteen staff to help with the provision of tasty hot meals over winter."

He continued, "There is clearly an increasing need for assistance for the growing number of individuals and families within our community who are experiencing very difficult financial pressures at the moment. The funding we are providing comes from Sunrise Rotary and from our individual Sunrise Rotary members. They are contributing money towards the production of hot meals, in lieu of attending our usual breakfast meetings during the COVID-19 restrictions”.

Over 60 meals were prepared on Wednesday 19 August, with plans to continue cooking on a weekly basis throughout remote learning.