27 Schools Get Share in P2P Fund Run

CHRISTMAS has come early for 27 local schools with Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC) donating a total of $18,767 for fundraising efforts at this year’s Port to Park, including Yarwun State School who can now continue their breakfast club program well into the New Year.

The top five schools with the most race registrations (as a percentage of their total school population) included St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School, Ambrose State School, Yarwun State School, Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School and Nagoorin State School.

Yarwun State School Principal, Amanda Ryan said the funding from Port to Park was feeding bright minds.

“Some of our young people live on properties and have jumped on the school bus at 7am which means breakfast would have been about 6.30am and for these children it’s a long time between then and 9am when class starts,” Principal Ryan said.

“We used to run the breakfast club once a week but now with the extra funding from Port to Park we have upped it to twice a week,” she said.

“Not only did our students partake in the fun run we now get the added benefits of improving the health and wellbeing of students at school.”

Chief Operating Officer Craig Walker said the local schools were an enormous part of bringing GPC’s new-look fun run, Port to Park, to life.

“All the registration fees from students go straight back into the schools and can be used on anything that promotes health and wellbeing from sporting equipment to improving outdoor spaces,” Mr Walker said.

“It is fantastic that some of our highest student registrations were actually from our smaller, rural schools like Ambrose, Nagoorin and Yarwun,” he said.

“On behalf of our GPC team, we’d like to say a big thank you to all 27 schools for lacing up and participating in our first Port to Park fun run,”

“We know the money will be put to good use and support students health and wellbeing.”

Showcasing GPC’s premier waterfront parklands as well as supporting local schools and community groups, the Port to Park FunD Run attracted thousands of participants earlier this year in August.

The event was held in GPC’s beautiful parklands, highlighting all three areas – East Shores, The Gladstone Marina and Spinnaker Park.

The race included the 9 kilometre Koongo Dash and the 3 kilometre Yallarm Family Run. Both race names recognise the language of the Traditional Owners of the land – the Bailai and Gooreng Gooreng nations, with Koongo meaning place of water and Yallarm meaning place of shells.