Kuyper Christian School students raise money for Guide Dogs through Zooper Dooper Thursdays

The students were part of the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Positive Paws Project at the Guide Dogs Centre in Glossodia this term, which saw them visit the guide dog pups once a week and help them learn social and early development skills.

Year 8 student Ben Miller (13) decided he wanted to raise some money to help the cause further, and he and three fellow Year 8 students - Jackson, Mikayla, and Caitlan - worked with the school on a fundraising effort that involved selling Zooper Doopers at lunch over two Thursdays.

The effort raised $200 profit, which the school will donate to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.

Ben's giving nature has seen him featured previously in the Gazette; in February 2018, he donated his birthday money to Hawkesbury Community Kitchen.

His mum, Kerryn Johnson, said she encouraged his generosity.

"After ben had gone out to the Guide Dogs a couple of times he said he wanted to give some of his money to the Guide Dogs. I said why don't you ask some of the kids at school to be part of a fundraiser?" she said.

"And he and his friends came up with the great idea to do two days of Zooper Dooper Thursdays."

The Positive Paws Project is a program Guide Dogs NSW/ACT has been piloting in Western Sydney Schools. The program gives high school students the opportunity to lend a helping 'paw' to trainee Guide Dogs at the Guide Dog Centre in Glossodia.

The students and the pups attend weekly Positive Paw Sessions involving activities that assist in socialising and developing the confidence of Guide Dog puppies. The project has been running for two years and in 2018 they increased from running the Positive Paws Sessions from 1 day per week to 3 days per week with 3 different schools.