Seeing homeless people sleeping on the streets in Melbourne during a school camp has prompted teens from Phoenix P-12 Community College to help those in need closer to home.
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Year 11 VCE Vocational Major students are collecting winter coats, non-perishable food and hygiene packs to distribute to community members who are struggling this winter.
Lillian D'Arcy, part of the Cozy Coats project, said the community initiative projects were part of the group's personal development class, which has a focus on giving back to the community.
"Last term we went to Melbourne for three days and did activities to give back to the homeless and less fortunate," Lillian said.
"We made and prepared food packs for these people with the organisation Fare Share, met and had meaningful conversations with a small group of less fortunate ... as well as collected packs for families escaping domestic violence situations," she said.
Back in Ballarat, her group chose to collect coats and donate them to the Off Your Back organisation, which will distribute the warm jackets through the Salvation Army.
"We chose them because we all know how cold Ballarat is, and how cold Victoria gets. It's something we can really relate to," she said.
"In Ballarat there is a lot of homeless people but you don't see it as much. I think seeing it in Melbourne was confronting but something we needed to see, and it did open our eyes to the problem," she said.
Lillian said the Melbourne visit and the people they met helped students understand the difficulties many people face.
"For me it made me feel a lot more grateful for what I do have. It was really confronting to see people not have food and literally sleeping on the street."
Lillian asked for anyone interested in donating to drop coats in to the school, with a collection box in the Phoenix P-12 Community College reception until June 14.
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"We are hoping to connect with as many people and businesses in the local Ballarat community as possible outside of our staff and student community," she said.
The canned food drive is looking to help tackle food insecurity and support Ballarat families, with a goal to break a world record of the most canned food donations.
Ring-top canned goods are needed which, at the end of June, will be donated to a Ballarat organisation to be distributed in the community.
A third group is collecting hygiene products, including dental care, hair care, female sanitary goods, and raising funds to buy additional products, which will be turned into 500 hygiene packs to donate to Ballarat's One Humanity Shower Bus.
Donations can be dropped in at the school.
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