St Joseph's School Hāwera pupils swap school shoes for gumboots

St Joseph's School Hāwera pupils wore their gumboots to school to support Gumboot Friday. Photo / Supplied

Byline: Alyssa Smith

South Taranaki school pupils swapped their school shoes for gumboots to support a national charity.

St Joseph's School Hāwera pupils wore their gumboots to school on November 5 to raise funds for I Am Hope's Gumboot Friday initiative.

I Am Hope is an initiative by the Key to Life Charitable Trust, which supports young people and their mental health.

The school raised over $300 for the initiative.

Year 8 sports leaders Oliver Crawford and Libby Gopperth, both 13, Jack Hurley, 12, and Blake Delehanty, 13, organised the Gumboot Day fundraiser with the help of their teacher Janelle Wright.

"The guidance from the teacher put us on track to make it a good day. Once she saw we had everything organised, she left us to it."

Blake says the gumboots complemented their school uniforms.

"There was a wide range of gumboots, but there was a lot of red bands. There was clean ones, dirty ones, and even some with stickers. You could tell who was from town and who lived rural from the gumboots they had."

Jack says as well as wearing gumboots, the pupils organised a gumboot throw competition, with a $2 entry fee.

"Everyone wanted to give it a go. I ended up winning the boys section of the competition. It was really fun."

Libby says it's important to support I Am Hope.

"They do a lot of good work for supporting young people with counselling. The funds raised help to push kids up the line in terms of getting that counselling and also ensures I Am Hope can continue to do the great work they do."