A showcase event was held last week to celebrate the achievements of local students who participated in the 2019 NSW Youth Frontiers Program - a mentoring program which sees students devise and develop projects to benefit their local community.
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Through the mentoring relationship, mentors build young people's leadership skills and foster civic engagement. Mentors encourage positive choices, foster self-esteem, support academic achievement and encourage community participation.
Brody Faulds, Caleb Jackson and Adam Mackenzie, with guidance from Ron Martini and Richard Lodge, organised an after school cross-country program with the assistance of Michelle Versluys. The program is planned to commence early 2020 and will allow interested students the opportunity to train and develop their cross-country skills three days a week at various locations with different distances. The students worked to coordinate venues, trainers and student permission notes and many students have already expressed an interest to participate next year.
Lilly Woodward, Taylah Jury and Luka Barnes with guidance from Emily Lowe decided to create a healthy and bright female toilet space within the school. The girls spent time thinking about the space that they would like to create and went about drawing designs and deciding on inspiring quotes for the toilet doors and coordinating the perfect colour scheme. With fantastic support from the school and with help from Kerry Daley at Valla Painters, the young people transformed the toilets in four days, transferring their design ideas by hand onto the doors and painting the surrounding bricks. They added a stool and hanging plant for style, which was donated to the young people by K-Mart.
Zabian Haigh felt that he would have liked more information about the school during his first few weeks in Year 7and with the assistance of Ron Martini created an easy to read flyer for future in-coming Year 7 students. The flyer provides a school map and key information that helps put a young person's mind at ease as they transition into High School. The principal was so impressed with Zabian's idea, that it will be included in orientation packs for Year 7 students and will be available at the front desk.
Parents, school representatives, friends, community members, Mayor Rhonda Hoban and Deputy Mayor John Wilson attended the showcase in which students presented their projects and reflected on their journey.
Cr Hoban was inspired by the students, as well as what the program can offer them.
"This is just the beginning," said Cr Hoban, speaking to the students.
"I hope you've learnt from this process that you can develop your skills and talents and you can influence other people. This can lead to leadership roles within your schools and in your communities."
Cr Hoban, who took part in the program herself as a mentor in 2017, addressed the mentors in the audience.
"I know what it's like, I know how much time it takes, but what a valuable learning experience it is for mentors as well. So thank you for putting your time and effort into your community. Thank you also to the school and to Mid Coast Communities."
Mid Coast Communities has delivered the Youth Frontiers program within Mid North Coast electorates for the last three years on behalf of the YWCA NSW, who receive funding from the NSW Department of Family and Community to deliver the program across the state.
Youth Frontiers is a youth mentoring initiative delivered over a six-month period during school terms. Student mentees are carefully matched to volunteer mentors who provide the young person with 30 hours of mentoring.
A crucial part of the program is recruiting members of the community to be mentors for students. Mentors come from diverse backgrounds and are carefully screened. Through the mentoring relationship, mentors build young people's leadership skills and foster civic engagement. Mentors encourage positive choices, foster self-esteem, support academic achievement and encourage community participation.
Students who participate in the program experience an increase in confidence, and learn leadership and life skills.
Mid Coast Communities congratulates all students who have completed the program and who have been inspirational with their ideas and projects Thanks also go to Nambucca High School, all the mentors, and the other community stakeholders who have supported the students throughout the program.
The NSW Government has committed to funding the Youth Frontiers program for another year. For more information about the program, please visit https://www.youthfrontiers.com.au/.
