St Joseph's Nudgee College

April 23, 2008

St Joseph's Nudgee College is seeking support from the community to provide Street Swags to homeless people.

The Street Swag is a patented product made from a super lightweight, eight-ounce, waterproof canvas with a high-density foam insert.

It conveniently rolls into itself to become a backpack or over the shoulder bag with room to put extra belongings.

The Street Swag offers a significant degree of warmth and comfort for homeless people sleeping rough. It is designed to slow the detrimental effects caused by sleeping on concrete.

Former Nudgee teacher Jean Madden devised the Street Swag concept with her mother in 2005 and St Joseph's Nudgee College has supported the project with fundraising events and student service.

"Our students in the afternoons and evenings roll the swags for distribution," Nudgee's Street Swag Coordinator Brian O'Reilly said.

Mr O'Reilly said the program was in need of blankets and other items to put in the Street Swags.

"Any parent, staff and student will be most welcome to be part of the Nudgee support network," he said.

If you can contribute anything to the program, please contact Brian O'Reilly.

Since 2005, Street Swags has been distributing swags in Brisbane and regional Queensland including Rockhampton, Innisfail, Cape York and Toowoomba. The program has also expanded into Sydney, regional New South Wales, Canberra and Adelaide.