• ← Back to Blog Posts

In recent years, the Watarrka Foundation has had the privilege of gaining support from a range of schools, students, and parents located in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. One of our school supporters in Sydney is Ascham School located in Edgecliff, NSW.

Every two years, students and teachers from Ascham School visit the Watarrka community as part of a school tour to meet the locals and provide any support they can.

"Education is important and a right for all children. The Watarrka Foundation does wonderful work in supporting indigenous students, and we are thrilled to be able to help in a small way.”

Ascham Parents Association

The Ascham Parents Association, led by President Samantha Roberts have been integral in arranging and executing support on behalf of the school. Samantha, working closely with fellow Parents Association member Georgie Howard recently organised a pop-up sale to raise money for the Foundation.

Georgie has been a long term supporter of the Foundation, and previously organised and hosted an indigenous art sale at Bondi Beach Public School in 2016, with all funds raised being donated to the Foundation.

"I first heard about the Watarrka Foundation through my friend, and Foundation Advisory Group Member Campbell Hudson. When we caught up, he would talk about the Watarrka region and his visits to the remote indigenous communities with such enthusiasm, it was infectious! The community embraced our art sale with such positivity and many homes in the area are now proudly showing some beautiful indigenous artworks. It was a tremendous success.” 

- Georgie Howard, Ascham Parents Association

Above: Images from the Ascham uniform pop-up stall.

Ascham Uniform Pop-up Stall

Ascham Parents Association President, Samantha Roberts set out in 2019 to find an innovative solution to an ongoing issue of unwanted school uniforms that had been piling up. Inspired by the recent opening of the Watarrka School second classroom, Samantha decided to organise a pop-up stall on the last day of term with all proceeds from the uniform sales being donated directly to the Foundation.

"We wanted to support a cause which would help children who are not as fortunate and where our donation would make a real difference. The Watarrka Foundation was the obvious choice."

- Samantha Roberts, President of the Ascham Parents Association

The pop-up stall was a huge success, raising $6,000 in total for the Watarrka Foundation. Ascham School organised a special Junior School assembly where they presented Campbell Hudson, Foundation Advisory Group Member, with the money raised. During the assembly, students who had visited Lilla and the Watarrka region the previous year spoke about their experiences and the impact these visits have had on their lives.

The Parents Association are planning more pop-up stores in the near future and will continue donating the proceeds to the Foundation. Students from Ascham who attend future visits to the Watarrka region will be able to see first-hand the major impact their donations have had on the education opportunities for young indigenous people within the community.

On behalf of all of us at the Watarrka Foundation, a huge thank you to Ascham School for their generous ongoing support.