Camp Burdekin – Fit For Life

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Be a Burdekenabler!

Become a donor (Burdekenabler) to our Camp Burdekin campaign and you can play a fundamental role in enabling our young people to remove themselves from the pressures they currently experience and provide them with opportunities and sights that they would never otherwise have experienced.

Bur·de·ken·ab·ler (noun)

A person who enables young people from the Northern Beaches to grow and believe in themselves, to dream big and realise their valued place in our world.

"he was a Burdekenabler because he was the top activator of opportunities for the youth in his community"

Camp Burdekin

Why?

Camps provide the opportunity for our young people to laugh and find joy in this world. The children and young people we work with have been exposed to a high degree of trauma in their short lives. They work hard to make the best choices in life and to step away from peer influences however this can be difficult to manage when their peers are often like family to them.

The explosion of access to the internet and social media means that young people are forever intertwined with influences beyond what is in front of them. They have become caught up in the anxiety of FOMO, Fear of Missing Out.

Whilst on the camps we want to spoil these young people. We all deserve to be able to stay in a warm house, have food served to us, to see and ski our slopes and to view areas of this beautiful country.

Whilst these experiences occur, our skilled staff can weave into the day discussions on goal setting, confidence, self-esteem, drug and alcohol use, financial planning and a myriad of other accidental counselling sessions on a variety of topics. When we take young people out of their natural environment they are able to open their mind to view the world and their place in it in very different ways. Often, they can dream and think big and see themselves and successful individuals.

Camps provide the opportunity for our young people to laugh and find joy in this world

The idea is that we will take 8-16 young people for 2-3 nights on two excursions – 1 in July to the snow and another adventure-based trip in either April or November.

Our goal with our Camp Burdekin campaign is to raise in total $20,000 for both camps ($10,000 per camp).

Our aim is to build self-esteem, social skills and financial skills among others with our young people and to further equip them with the life skills that they need.

What will the children do on these camps?

The young people will engage in physical activities whilst at the camp from skiing to fishing, climbing a wall to making damper. Our staff will creatively weave discussions and activities around important life lessons they need to address, from keeping their room clean, cleaning their teeth and planning their day. Simple life lessons that will reflect and build on transferable skills that they require back in the real world.

This year two of your young people had the opportunity to trek in Kakadu with Premier Mike Baird, Layne Beachley, Kirk Pengelly, Gail Kelly and a number of other significant mentors. This was a life changing experience as they were forced to step outside their comfort zone, challenge themselves and experience absolute success whilst terrified of what lay below the waters.

A Client Says...

"A few months ago I was given the opportunity by the Burdekin Association to go on a trek in Kakadu with a few youth and mentors. From that trek there were many words of wisdom shared amongst each other around the Campfire. The words that resonated with me the most, helped me grow a positive identity within myself, and define what I truly value.

I will always remember and reflect on these words and concepts, in particular:

  • Forgiveness – where progress is all about moving on in life from those times that are hardest, and to do that we need to be able to forgive, let go, and focus on yourself and what is good in life
  • The fact that we all matter – regardless of what we do, regardless of who we know, we all matter just the same
  • Resilience – which is the ability to put everything in perspective, and move away from whatever crisis we may face to progress towards achieving our goals, whatever they may be.

I believe that we need all these values to become a better person in both a personal and professional sense."

Your donation – big or small...

...will help make a genuine difference to these young people,
enabling them to build the future they deserve...

We acknowledge the Aboriginal people of the Cadigal and Gayamaygal Clans. We acknowledge the Country on which we live, work, and gather as being Aboriginal land.

We acknowledge the lands, waterways and skies that are connected to Aboriginal people. We honour them and pay our deepest respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We respect their rightful place within our communities, and we value their ancient cultural knowledge and practices.

Aboriginal Flag
Torres Straight Island Flag

We deeply respect that this will always be Aboriginal land and we will honour and follow the first peoples’ values in caring for the Country and for preserving their culture.

We deeply value that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest living culture in the world and we will continue to work with their peoples and communities to ensure their cultures endure and remain strong.