The eight student recipients of the 2024 Queensland Premier’s ANZAC Prize are working hard to raise money for Mates4Mates to give back to and support the Australian veteran community.
Presented in a partnership between the Queensland Government and RSL Queensland, the Queensland Premier’s ANZAC Prize provides young Queenslanders with an opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the ANZAC legacy. These students will travel to important memorial sites along the Western Front of Europe in April to commemorate the sacrifice of Australian service people.
As part of their grant, the student recipients have been given the task of creating their own fundraising event or initiative within their school or local community to raise funds and awareness for Mates4Mates.
Currently, the students have raised an impressive $18,000, with donations continuing to flow in.
One of two chaperones for this year’s tour group and teacher at All Hallows School, Courtney Walls explained Mates4Mates was a logical choice for the group as one of their main goals is to pay tribute to the ‘amazing contribution and sacrifice that Defence Force members have made for our country’.
“Our fundraising endeavours will hopefully help those in need. This is our way to give back to a group of people who have sacrificed so selflessly for us,” Ms Walls said.
“Within the student’s fundraisers, some have run bake sales or food stalls, one is running a raffle, and one of our students has even raised over $7,000 by selling budgies, bunya nuts and other donations!”
“The students have been blown away by the kindness and generosity shown by their friends, families and local communities and they’ve been encouraged to continue this important work thanks to people’s willingness to support a great cause.”
Ms Walls understands the significance of the ANZAC legacy on a personal level, having lived in Lille, France for seven months, close to the battlefields of Somme and Flanders, where she visited many Australian cemeteries and memorials dedicated to fallen soldiers of WWI.
“My experience in France left an indelible mark on me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share the history and culture of the Western Front with a new generation of Queensland students and for them to discover more about the ANZAC legacy in Europe,” Ms Walls said.
“Participation in the tour provides these students with a profound understanding of the legacy of the ANZAC tradition and impresses upon them the responsibility of keeping this legacy alive and at the forefront of our minds.”
“Many of our students have conducted research into family members that served during the World Wars, who they will be commemorating whilst on tour at the various Australian memorials.”
Also sharing in this deeply personal journey is lead chaperone and Urangan State High School teacher, Michelle Pipe who is a veteran herself, serving in the Royal Australian Air Force before becoming a teacher.
“I have a long family history connected to the Defence Force, including my father, grandfathers, my sister, and my husband all being veterans,” Ms Pipe said.
“I have longed for the opportunity to be able to tour the European battlefields where our Australian soldiers fought and died and lay resting in peace to this day. To share in this with these exceptional young Queensland students is the pinnacle of my career as a history teacher.”
“For my family, I will be honouring two of our uncles. Generations of our families have handed down the stories of their sacrifice; both killed in action on the battlefields of Belgium,” Ms Pipe added.
To find out more about how you can support Mates4Mates and these students on their fundraising journey, visit their fundraising page.
For more information about Mates4Mates services, reach out to us on 1300 4 MATES (62 937) for a confidential chat.
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