All children undergoing treatment in the Rainbow Ward at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, Mater Dei Hospital and their siblings were recently given a personal Christmas present thanks to gift sponsors, as part of the San Anton School community social engagement programme.

After being sorted and labelled, the gifts were delivered to the hospital by the San Anton School student council members, who coordinated the initiative, accompanied by the school’s youth worker, Julian Galea and head of admissions, communications and development, Maria Pia Galea, who coordinates the programme.

The gifts were presented to Angele Cuschieri and Rennie Zerafa, Puttinu Cares’ president and CEO respectively.

The brainchild of the late head of school Sandro Spiteri, the San Anton School community social engagement programme brings the school community together to give back to society, through annual charitable initiatives. With educational links across all sectors of the school, this holistic programme encourages social-emotional learning by developing empathy and caring for others and fosters socially responsible mindsets.

The theme for this scholastic year is ‘Children for Children’  and, through a number of initiatives throughout the year, the San Anton School community is supporting Puttinu Cares.

Commenting on the initiative, head of school Bernadette Stivala said: “I am very proud and happy about the generosity shown by our school community. At San Anton School, we strive to ensure that all our students understand the real spirit of Christmas by being grateful for all the good things in our life and by being generous towards those members in our community, as well as those in society in general who are in need.”