Students from the TAFE Certificate III in Business dished up a luncheon feast at the campus canteen on November 19 with potato bake, lasagne, salad, a drink and a fresh fruit salad for dessert for only $8. 

Students Joe Bliss, Margaret Riley, Sam Strong, Pamela Nichols and Robert Roberts donated $200 raised from the meal to the local conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society to help children in need.

Local conference member, Brian Baldwin said the money will be earmarked for special projects within the community. 

The funds might all be given to one child, or spilt between several. 

When the committee next convenes, Brian said they will sift through the welfare cases and identify where the greatest needs lie.

“It must be spent on disadvantaged children, who go without breakfast at school, or need new shoes or new uniforms or something like that,” he said. “We could probably buy them a new pair of shoes for $60-70, something like that, or provide breakfast for them for a fortnight before school. 

“It would surprise you, it’d almost shock you, the number of children that go to our very schools without breakfast. 

“And some of them don’t even have lunch. 

“They must just get one meal a day at night-time.”

He said often children are equipped with very few clothes and just a pair of runners as their footwear.

“So we’re going to look after those,” he said.

Brian stressed there is a great need within Inverell throughout the year, and their Christmas appeal touches many residences in the community.

“Our St Vincent de Paul conference, we’ll be presenting Christmas presents and hampers to approximately, upwards of 130 homes this Christmas in the town and district,” he said.