29 September 2023
On Saturday 26 August, St Peter’s College volunteered at the Mary Mags Dinners – serving our community with a free three-course sit down dinner. The menu consisted of minestrone soup, pasta bake, and for dessert brownies with ice-cream – with enough leftover for our guests to take with them.
We had the pleasure of serving many friendly faces at the table, sharing a laugh, and getting to know our guests.
You should never judge a book by its cover – you just don’t know the journey someone has been on, leading them to where they are now. The experience of Mary Mags allows you to open your heart and give back to the community one meal at a time aiming to reduce hunger and be a friend to someone, even if it is for a moment.
Christina Monti (Senior Human Resources Advisor)
Below is a reflection from Lachlan (Year 10)
A group of four year 10 students volunteered their time, taking part in Mary Mags Dinners. Mary Mags Dinners is a service initiative run by The Magdalen Centre where they put on a free three-course dinner every Saturday night for the homeless and disadvantaged.
Friday after school the boys were involved in cooking and preparing the dinner for approximately 100 guests. The dinner event on Saturday night involved students completing tasks such as setting up the dinner area, portioning food and waiting tables to give the homeless and disadvantaged people a break from stressing about simple things like when they might get their next meal.
The Mary Mags dinners have been operating every Saturday for the last thirty years, striving to be a place of peace and community over a meal. The centre heavily relies on groups like our boys to volunteer their time to help coordinate these events. All involved had a great time helping with the dinners, finding the experience very rewarding.
A big thank you to the boys involved as well as Nicola Hughes from the Mission Guild and Margaret Reid for their significant assistance in coordinating the evening.
Mr Ed Ruediger
Service Learning Program Coordinator
