Rathkeale boys on board with charity

Rathkeale College student Sam Wilkinson puts the finishing touches to a table with a view at the Fish & Ships charity event aboard HMNZS Canterbury last Friday. PHOTO/DALE WALTERHOUSE

A squad of nine Rathkeale College students waited tables and helped serve a fish and chip meal for 400 paying guests aboard the HMNZS Canterbury as part of a charity event for the Wellington City Mission.

Rathkeale College Chaplain Dale Walterhouse said the charity event last Friday had been "a great success" for the charity recipients.

He said the jobs completed by the students, who worked alongside about 30 students from Samuel Marsden Collegiate, was a fitting focus for the Masterton students, who were encouraged to take part in projects for the wider community, especially since the Anglican Diocese of Wellington operated the city mission.

The New Zealand Defence Force hosted the luncheon and also treated donors to a bill of entertainment from the Royal New Zealand Navy Band, according to a Defence Force press release.

A charity auction was held onboard as part of the event with all funds raised going to the city mission and "others in the greater Wellington region who are most in need".

The Wellington City mission had been providing help in the capital for 112 years and "like the Wellington City Mission, the NZDF prides itself on providing assistance to New Zealanders in times of disaster or emergency, protecting our borders and environment and joining forces with our allies to defend and protect".

Mr Walterhouse said the Rathkeale corps of students started work about 9.30am, helping to lay dining tables, waiting on guests, and completing clean-up detail as well.

He said two of the students had been "very, very interested in joining the services in some form" and the fundraiser "was a good opportunity for our boys to see how they can help".