By Callum Ludwig
A Wandin North Primary School student has shown initiative and generosity beyond his years with a recent fundraiser.
Jake has been 3D printing toys to sell to his peers at school with all funds raised to go towards the Rotary Club of Wandin.
Jake said he remembered that the Rotary Club of Wandin had given the school apples for students and microscopes for their open night and he decided he wanted to give back.
“I had to have a talk with [Principal] Mr Bailey and I said could I do it last term and he said we’ll wait till this term in week two to start selling, so a few weeks before that I made an announcement at an assembly,” he said.
“They are made out of filament that’s reusable because we have sustainability class and Ms Attrill the sustainability teacher really likes to take care of the earth so I decided to use sustainable filament so you could recycle it.”
Jake had a range of 3D-printed dragons and dragon eggs of different sizes to sell and set a fundraising goal of $150 which he smashed out of the park, ending up raising $1016.
The Rotary Club of Wandin will discuss with Jake and his family what community projects hsi funds might go towards, such as supporting the community meals program on Friday in Wandin or funding a well for a school in Cambodia.
Jake said he was pretty happy to see everyone who bought something really happy with their new toys.
“I think if I could do this again next year, maybe I would print mythical monsters,” he said.
“I felt pretty grateful that I gave the money to them [Wandin Rotary] but now I feel more grateful that they’re helping another school overseas to get a well.”
Jake has previously had experience with 3D printers in making octopuses while he also learnt more about them and was able to use his cousin Tom’s printers before he had access to one of his own.
Wandin North Primary School Principal Paul Bailey said for their students like Jake to recognise how strong the school’s connection to the Wandin Rotary is and want to give back is fantastic for the school.
“A lot of students come to me with ideas whether it’s to raise money or start a lunchtime club, so what I always ask my students is to put together a plan because then if it is to come together, then the work can continue to make sure it comes to life,” he said.
“Jake took on that feedback and went home and worked together closely with his parents to put a plan together, and then to map out what this would look like and for Jake to be able to set a goal and beyond achieve it is outstanding.”
Rotary Club of Wandin President Paul Martin and Youth Chair Peter Johnson visited the school to thank Jake.
“We’re just blown away that this is a clear instance of somebody wanting to be community-minded, especially someone as young as Jake is, and then to give back to Rotary, normally the boots on the other foot and it’s Rotary distributing funds, but for someone to do a fundraising project and to give us the funds was wonderful,” Mr Martin said.
“It just strengthens the connection between the local community and the local primary schools, we’re very focused on our school communities and this just makes it an even stronger connection because it’s been a bit reciprocal in helping us to help the community,” Mr Johnson said.
