Together for the Common Good (T4CG) is a UK charity dedicated to civic and spiritual renewal. It is centred in the belief in the sacred nature of the human person and the fundamental importance of relationships. The charity helps people to discern ways to build common good in the places where they live and work. Relationship building is at the heart of the T4CG’s ethos, drawing out connections and threads to reveal acts and initiatives of love and hope – traces of God’s vibrant kingdom at work in the world.
As a school, we got involved as a school partner in 2022 via Jo Stow, who is in the IHOM Parish, one of our partner parishes. She came in to talk to us about the Common Good Schools Programme, which is designed for KS3&4 in schools and youth settings and cultivates a respect for others and the importance of good relationships, while demonstrating good stewardship and valuing community. We immediately saw the value in this project and could see the potential for growing it in our school with our wonderfully kind students.
During the 23-24 academic year, Ms Gold took the lead and adapted the programme to fit in with our needs as a school and those of our local community. She focussed on building links with groups and causes close to us in terms of geography of sentiment and participation from our students was fantastic:
This academic year, Miss Goode has taken over as Co-ordinator and is building on these incredibly strong foundations; she has found that our students are keen to put faith, hope and love into action and become ‘Common Good Influencers’. We have continued to work with staff and residents/students at Brandon House and Penny Fields School respectively, and the number of students who request to take part continues to rise. Miss Good has also facilitated student co-ordination of crisp packet repurposing (into emergency blankets!), bird box building and electronic item recycling points and has developed strong links with Leeds Irish Health and Homes charity, organising a wonderful Christmas Afternoon Tea served by our students and we will continue to facilitate such events. We are also working closely with St Urban’s Primary School, who came into our Art dept. to design Christmas cards in December and the CGLs will soon be doing training with St Urban’s football and netball teams and training their ‘Playground Leaders’.
It is incredible to see our wonderful students giving back to our local community, helping them to become the person that God calls them to be, and we are always on the lookout for more projects that Cardinal Heenan Common Good Influencers can put into action.
