St Andrew’s College recently welcomed some very special guests to our annual Mother’s Dinner and the students were delighted to show their appreciation for their mums and all they do.
Held in an open-air marquee on the Oval following pre-drinks on the Forecourt, the Mother’s Dinner on May 8 was filled with fairy lights, music and laughter.
Grace Dowse (Fr 2020) gave a heart-felt ‘To the Mothers’ speech – in which she said:
“Most importantly, it is unconditional love that makes mothers dedicate so much but expect nothing in return. Mums are no doubt over-tired, over-worked, and under-appreciated. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows, there is not a mother here who would not drop everything for us when we are down, and no one in the world prouder when we are up. Mum, I don’t know where I’d be without you, without your chaos and your love. Whether you are dancing around the kitchen with me or staying up anxiously as I pain through an assignment, you are the best friend I could ask for. So let tonight be a wholehearted thank you to all the mothers here and those unable to be here tonight, for all this love and so much more that you do.”
Grace’s mother, Sarah Dowse, responded with a ‘To the Children’ speech:
“Motherhood is full of the unexpected – and is often chaotic like Grace mentioned– but it is also filled with enormous love and pride and with genuine friendships with our sons and daughters. There are many professional roles represented here in this room tonight, but I am sure the favourite role is being a mother. The delight of the unexpected, the laughter and love – the sheer joy!”
The dinner raised $1,500 for the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC) in Redfern and Gemma Hudson (Fr 2021) spoke on their behalf:
“The proceeds raised tonight will be going towards funding WAGEC’s services and programs which support women and children in our community. These programs include ACCESS, our program that enables women’s financial independence, SEED, our program for children’s Social, Emotional and Educational Development, our in-house psychological services and our primary prevention projects which focus on educating our community and stopping gender-based violence from happening in the first place. These programs and services rely on donations, and we would not be able to provide them to our clients and community without amazing community fundraisers such as this.”
Find out more about the foundation here: https://www.wagec.org.au/
Thank you to all who were involved in the successful and heartwarming St Andrew’s Mother’s Dinner 2022!
See photos from the night by Sub Zero here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=StAndrewsCollegeSydney&set=a.394623902679233