It’s 8.15 on a Tuesday morning at Boronia College (K-12) in Melbourne and chaplain Alan Silverwood is heading towards the Grade 3 classroom when a young boy runs towards him, throwing his arm around his side. “Silverwood!” he shouts. Alan stops to talk to him for a while about sport, cementing a grin on the boy’s face.

Inside a nearby classroom, volunteers from Boronia Church of Christ are setting out cups of juice, while teacher Jason Hodge, also a Christian, is manning four sandwich presses, preparing cheese toasties. Children start to hover at the door like it’s feeding time at the zoo, edging closer, waiting for the clock to circle around to half past when they’re allowed to come in.

L-R: Church volunteers Laura, Barb and chaplain Alan Silverwood.

Over the next 20 minutes, 55 children will come through the doors. Cheese toasties are sent around the room at an impressive rate as kids guzzle down apple juice and chat about their lives. Church volunteer Laura Deith kneels beside a group of four girls and asks an important question: “If you could only eat hamburgers or hot chips for the rest of your life, which would you choose?” The girls think hard before giving their answers, lapping up the attention. The conversation continues for several minutes with Laura making an effort to get to know each kid.

I’m told it’s the biggest crowd they’ve had since Breakfast Club started in Term 2 and over at the sandwich press, Jason is battling to keep up with the demand. It was Jason, a Christian from Wonga Park, who first proposed the idea of Breakfast Club to his colleagues.

“I had a couple of kids in my class who I knew weren’t having breakfast, so I started feeding them, and one in particular stopped getting sent out of class. So I spoke to the staff about the idea of providing breakfast to kids one morning a week. I said, I’m going to fund it, my wife and I will fund it. And everyone at that point said ‘You can’t do that’. So we ended up getting a grant from the Lions Club to buy all the equipment, plates and stuff, and the first few weeks of food. We had about 15 kids the first week, 20-odd the next week, and I think that’s when the Church of Christ came on board, so it was perfect timing.”

“I just see this as an extension of the hospitality of our home. Every house has a grace and a gift. We know how to feed people and so for me it was just natural. I was kicking myself it took me so long to think of it. It was so simple.”

These days, the Church of Christ gives money towards bread, spreads, cheese and juice for the weekly breakfast. Along with Jason, Alan the chaplain and another teacher, two church volunteers help distribute the food and build relationships with the kids.

But Breakfast Club isn’t the only way local churches are impacting Boronia College. Laura and her friend, also from the local Church of Christ, come in on Fridays to run lunchtime games for the kids, and the local Anglican church, St Paul’s runs a mentoring programme via World Vision’s ‘Kids Hope’ initiative. Through the programme, around 15 children with extra needs are mentored by people from the church.

Campus Principal Colin Davies says three years since it started, Kids Hope has become an integral part of the school.

“I don’t know what we’d do without it. The mentors themselves are welcomed and they’re certainly seen as part of the school community.

Chaplain Alan Silverwood and Principal Colin Davies

“It’s been a good non-threatening partnership between the school and the church. No one in our community has ever raised any concerns. Some schools with a chaplaincy programme, the parents are concerned, but we’ve never had that problem here.”

Part of the reason for the strong relationship between the school and the church is the results they’ve seen through Kids Hope.

“We’ve had a number of kids for whom it’s been really good; we’ve seen a bit of a turnaround in their attitude,” says Colin. “We’ve had some kids rough around the edges, and when you see them sitting down quietly playing with a Grandmother or Grandfather, and they’re this mellow, normal child, you can see it’s been great for them.”

Another contributing factor is the work of chaplain Alan Silverwood. He says a big part of building trust has been having the kids’ welfare at the centre of what they do.

“I think the school has recognised that the mentors are there for the children, they don’t push their own agendas at all.

“They’re there basically to build up the child, helping to build a strength and a value and a deeper sense of well-being. A small number of the kids come to the Friday night kids programme at St Paul’s, but that’s just all part of the bigger picture.”

While at the school I meet Peter Godden, a retiree and mentor at Boronia College from St Paul’s Anglican Church. In the last three years he’s mentored two children, a boy and a girl, with the boy now in Year 7 on the same campus. For Peter, getting involved was as simple as seeing a need and wanting to help out.

“It was a bit nervy the first time I met my [mentoree], but I’ve enjoyed it ever since. There is a challenge there every week because kids come to you with different problems and in different situations.

“Without delving too deeply into their personal lives, you try to skate around and get a feeling of how life is for them.”

He says while it’s known they’re from the church, mentors aren’t allowed to speak about their faith.

“We don’t talk of Christianity at all. If they ask questions, which they rarely do, we can answer, but I think the kids are aware we’re from the church.”

Campus Principal Colin says he thinks churches need to be doing more community-based activities in order to boost their visibility.

“The church is an important part of the local community and it’s important that the churches see themselves as being part of the community and I guess it’s a challenge for churches as well because a lot of people don’t attend church and so it’s getting smaller and smaller. So the church, I think, as part of their own marketing, need to ensure they do it well.”

Teacher Jason says the school-church partnership is a great opportunity for Christians in the community to practically love local kids.

“I had the Father of a little boy in Grade One come up to me and say, ‘We just can’t thank you enough. He just keeps raving about Breakfast Club.’ So you know, I think it’s about building relationships. Is God working? Yes. We keep telling people that this is supported by the local church. That doesn’t go unnoticed. Who knows where it will head; sow the seeds and hope for the best.”

To find out more about the World Vision Kids Hope programme, visit their website: http://www.worldvision.com.au/takeaction/Volunteer/KidsHopeAus.aspx