The STORMCo team are back in town this week with the aim of serving the Cobar community.
It’s the 27th year the staff and students from Avondale School in Cooranbong, NSW have been visiting Cobar to offer their service.
Avondale School chaplain, Pastor Bethany Chapman said they love coming back to Cobar year after year.
“We are honoured by the legacy and relationships past STORMCo teams have built here.
“Students at our school come back from the trip and tell others about their time in Cobar which means there are many students who look forward to being old enough to come,” Bethany said.
This year they also sent another group to Narromine after they had 50 students apply to take part in the STORMCo program.
“Avondale School is a Christian school and serving others is one of our values.
“STORMCo means Service To Others Really Matters,” Bethany explained.
“We believe STORMCo gives our students a huge opportunity to serve others without expecting anything in return.
“This helps them to live out their values and not just talk about them.
“Serving on STORMCo is a rite of passage for our senior students from years 10-12 where they develop their own leadership skills and the staff support them in their work.
“These students give their own time in the holidays, and they pay to attend as well so they all have a heart for serving others,” she said.
“We have been coming so long that grandparents and parents are now sending their children and remembering the same songs that they used to sing when they went to Kids Club,” Bethany said.
Kids Club is a fun event for primary school aged children, and the students also help out with odd jobs in the community.
At Kids Club there’s facepainting, songs, puppets, drama, clowns, games, craft and a story each day.
“For community service this year we got booked out really quickly which is so great!” Bethany said.
“Some of our students found work to do on Saturday when they visited businesses and knocked on doors, and some work was booked in advance through previous contacts at the Youthie, Council, Public School and Men’s Shed.
“We are working on a variety of jobs like helping at the Op Shop, running games at the Youthie, filling the public school sandpit, weeding, gardening and mowing at various businesses and homes.”
Bethany said they have also connected with the local police, ambulance and fire services to hear about their important work in the community and to wash their vehicles. They also spent time with the local church communities.
Many of the students have never been west before and they enjoyed spending the weekend looking around town.
