A Daylesford pupil was one of 44 young Victorians to be honoured with the Fred Hollows Humanity Award.
Daylesford Dharma School student Scarlett Gunn was presented with her award at a special ceremony at Parliament House in Melbourne last week.
The award, held in Victoria for the first time, recognises grade 6 pupils who follow in Fred Hollows’ footsteps by showing care and compassion for others.
“The response to the award has been incredible with children from 34 schools across Victoria nominated. It was wonderful to meet so many young people making a positive difference in their communities,” said Fred Hollows Foundation founding director, Gabi Hollows.
“The ideas and endless energy that young people exhibit continue to inspire me. Fred would have been incredibly proud that the foundation has inspired young students to dream big and help others.”
Dharma School pupil Scarlett was awarded following a nomination from her teacher, Katarina Widderington-Oliver.
“Scarlett made a New Years’ resolution to raise money for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre,” Ms Widderington-Oliver said.
“She collected secondhand goods and books and set up a market stall in Creswick,” Ms Widderington-Oliver said.
“This raised $300 and Scarlett donated the funds to the ASRC. Now she plans to do another stall in the spring and plans to donate to another charity.”
Premier Daniel Andrews presented the awards and said: “Fred Hollows lived his life fighting for social justice and championing the right of all people to high quality eye care. The students being awarded here today are following in his footsteps.
“Victoria’s students have done incredible work to make their community a better place. They’ve shown great compassion for others, and I’m sure Fred Hollows would be very proud.”
Ella Bater from St Louis De Montfort’s School in Aspendale was selected as junior ambassador for Victoria and has chosen to allocate $5000 donated by Specsavers to The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Kenya program to end avoidable blindness.
