Inner West Archives - Page 6 of 7 - The Burdekin Association

Mentoring Men Volunteer Initiative

October 23, 2021October 20, 2021

We are delighted to have entered into a partnership with Mentoring Men to engage male volunteers into our Volunteer Program for our young people. Mentoring Men is a fantastic local charity providing free long-term, one-on-one life mentoring programs Australia wide.

Volunteering

As many of you already know we are big on collaborations and community partnerships here at Burdekin – we believe that together we can make the world a better place – more so than going it alone.

Volunteers play a huge role in contributing to healthier and more resilient communities. Being a volunteer also has positive gains for the person who volunteers, not just the mentee. Being part of a community, making a difference, having fun as well as learning news skills, gaining confidence and meeting new people are all part of the overall experience.

Common goal

With a common goal of making a positive difference to people in our community our partnership with Mentoring Men makes perfect sense. By working together, by sharing our knowledge, skills and resources, we can share the responsibility for achieving this.

Gender disparity in volunteering

With this collaboration, specifically men will volunteer with us in roles like driving instructor, general maintenance, mentoring, program co-ordination, house angel and tutoring. We know that women tend to volunteer more of their time in Australia so we really welcome this wonderful opportunity.

Possible reasons why men don’t volunteer as much as women:

They assume it’s just for women?
They feel like they don’t have the skillset?
They feel like they don’t have time?
They feel like their good intentions might be misinterpreted?

Role Models

The truth is that society is crying out for male role models. Steve Biddulph, Parent Educator, Author and retired Psychologist says: “our schools are filled with kids – especially boys who are ‘under- fathered’ and at considerable risk of going off the rails as a result.”

If you would like to know more about our Volunteer Program please visit our pages: Volunteer and Skilled Volunteers and if you would like to know more about our Mentoring Men Volunteer Engagement Initiative, please contact us.

We take this opportunity to formally invite any men in our community to get in touch with us if you would like to volunteer!

Mentoring Men welcome all enquiries for men interested in becoming a Mentor, if you are interested in becoming a volunteer Mentor with Mentoring Men please take a look at what it’s all about.

Have you ever thought about becoming a Burdekin Foster Carer?

October 23, 2021October 10, 2021

Have you ever thought about becoming a foster carer?

Being a Carer with The Burdekin Association is different from the traditional foster care programs.

We are a community-based non-profit organisation offering foster care to young people in need. Fostering can be undertaken in many ways, in your own home or a rent-free Burdekin property for you and the young person. Singles, couples and families are ALL welcome!

Are you ready?

Do you want to take the next step and make a difference to a child’s life? For more information, call one of our carer support staff on 02 8976 1777 or email carer@burdekin.org.au.

Check out what Burdekin Foster Carers and young people in care have to say.

Have a listen to what Beth and Ange have to say about being Foster Carers with Burdekin. Beth and Ange.

Have a listen to what a difference having a caring home made to CJ. CJ

Have a listen to what being Foster Carers has meant to Jill and Tom. Jill and Tom.

Please visit our Carer pages to find out more – Becoming a Foster Carer and Live-in Foster Carer FAQ’s.

Learn more about being a foster carer, hear real stories about what it is like to be a foster carer with us

At The Burdekin Association we know many teenagers are in need of a safe, secure, nurturing home and that many people won’t consider fostering teenagers because of negative misconceptions about them.

Fostering a teenager provides young people with a consistent, nurturing, adult role model at a vital time in their life, allowing them to build up necessary steps to independence.

You do not need to have had your own teenagers or have had experience with teenagers. What you do need to have is an open heart to support young people who need to be loved and protected.

Keeping siblings together in foster care is vital to keep their close bond and connection rather than being split up. Burdekin currently have young teenage siblings who urgently need carers available to offer them a safe and nurturing home.

Have you ever considered becoming a foster carer?

Lisa* is a kind, thoughtful 11-year-old girl with loads of energy, looking for a loving home in the Inner West of Sydney. Lisa loves gymnastics, dancing and has recently shown a lot of interest in AFL. Lisa will be making the transition to high school next year and may need help getting to and from her new school. Lisa loves school but sometimes needs some support with her homework. She loves structure and routine and goes to bed at the same time every night. Lisa is an amazing chef – her favourite things to make are smoothies and cupcakes.
*Image and name has been changed to protect child’s identity.

Foster carers needed Inner West, Northern Sydney, Eastern Suburbs and South East Sydney - can you help?

Ricky* is a caring, funny, smart 12-year-old boy who is full of energy and is hoping for a warm and loving home in the Inner West of Sydney. Ricky* absolutely loves NRL and has recently taken a huge interest in his fitness – going to the local park for running and circuit training. He has recently learnt to follow recipes and cooks up a storm. Ricky* takes so much pride in his bedroom. Ricky* enjoys school and sometimes will need some support with his assignments. Ricky* responds positively to a structured but fun environment.
*Image and name have been changed to protect child’s identity.

We are looking for individuals from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, who are single or in a relationship – all are welcome and encouraged to become foster carers.

Don’t forget, if you would like more information call one of our carer support staff on 02 8976 1777, email carer@burdekin.org.au or visit our website to find out more – Becoming a Foster Carer and Live-in Foster Carer FAQ’s.

Volunteers Week 2021

June 9, 2021June 4, 2021

It was a busy Volunteers Week 2021 for Burdekin!

Our Inner West Volunteer Co-ordinator Renee, our Northern Beaches Volunteer Co-ordinator Kerri and Kim , our overall Volunteer Coordinator participated in a thank you activity – National Volunteers Week (NVW) Cultural & Bush Tucker Walk 2021.

The theme of this years NVW was Recognise, Reconnect, Reimagine and as a way of saying thank you, STARS invited volunteers to either a morning or afternoon guided walk on the Cooks River. Darug Dharawal man and respected horticulturalist Terry Lennis guided the walk. Lunch was provided by Café Green House at Gough Whitlam Park.

Our Volunteers Celebrated National Volunteers Week — Volunteer Co-ordinators Renee and Kim celebrating National Volunteers Week 2021

Burdekin celebrated NVW for the first time, having launched our Volunteer Program during NVW 2020 this is really a special time to us. Our volunteer team celebrated and bonded over a meal and, of course, received certificates of appreciation.

Burdekin’s Mrs Jill Wrathall presenting volunteer Anna with a certificate of appreciation.

If you would like to know more about our Volunteer Program you can take a look at our dedicated pages:

Volunteer With Burdekin

Burdekin Skilled Volunteers

Our Current Volunteer Vacancies

Charitable community days and in-kind giving

May 10, 2022May 27, 2021

Working Bees at our Inner West and Northern Beaches Properties

Giving comes in all shapes and forms. We want to highlight some of the contributions our amazing community of supporters have generously provided to us as in-kind giving, in other words donating time and goods.

What are in-kind donations?

In-kind donations may be physical stuff like furniture, clothes, necessities (food, toiletries), school supplies, equipment and the like or consist of donations in the form of professional expertise, skills and services such as legal services or property refurbishment, facility management and the like.

Community working bees make a big, practical difference to our work and to our young people – we have some amazing – we mean AMAZING – partners and organisations helping out.

The Property Industry Foundation (PIF) connects us with other organisations all the time to help alleviate child and youth homelessness. These organisations are across a variety of industries providing numerous services and products that will help services like ours to keep youth safe and secure.

Stanmore property working bee with Charterhall and Flick Macqueen Plant Designs

Staff from Charterhall and plants and pots from Flick Macqueen Plant Design helped us with a garden design at one of our Stanmore properties. Charterhall’s website says: “Our team are encouraged to give 1% of their time to support community projects.”

What an amazing ethos and the team did an incredible job. Take a look at some of the before, during and after photos below.

King Living

King Living have been donating the most beautiful lounges from one of their stunning ranges to one of our Stanmore properties. These pieces have gone into new homes for our young people and look amazing.

“We received the beautiful couch and dining table set on Monday which was assembled by two really lovely men. The Burdekin Association is truly grateful for the ongoing support both organisations provide. The houses we find automatically feel like homes with the quality of these items.” Matt, The Burdekin Association.

[Show slideshow]

Bunnings

Ensuring fire safety in our properties is a priority for us and we must say a huge thank you to Bunnings Warringah Mall, who have donated fire safety products such as fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid kits and other fire safety accessories to reduce the risk of fire and keep our young people safe both in the Inner West and Northern Beaches.

We can’t thank these wonderful people enough, their commitment to helping us and the phenomenal work they have done not to mention the gorgeous furniture and plants.

BINGO Bins

The people over at BINGO Industries have been a huge support to The Burdekin Association by providing about $10,000 – $15,000 worth of bins over the last year. The bins are being used to clean up properties….such wonderful support that we are really appreciative of.

We are always saying this but … it really does take a village and we are so lucky to have found ours! Thank you everyone for your precious time and donations.

If you would like to partner with us in any way and help us to solve youth homelessness please get in touch!

Charterhall – LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube

King Living – Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest

Bunnings – Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube

Flick McQueen Design – Facebook and Instagram

BINGO Industries – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter

[Show slideshow]

Bunnings and Taubmans Paints

Recently the wonderful people at Bunnings Warringah Mall and Taubmans Paints helped us with a very special project – The Burdekin Learning Space. We are thrilled to say that, at a property in North Head, we now have a classroom, therapy room and sensory room. Our young people are going to benefit so so much from this space where specialist education workers will provide trauma informed education. None of this would be possible without the kindness and generosity of community! Read more about our Learning Space and Education Specialists fundraising page here.

[Show slideshow]

Taubmans – Facebook and Instagram

IDAHOBIT 2021

June 9, 2021May 20, 2021

LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion at Burdekin

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) celebrates LGBTQIA+ people globally and raises awareness for the work still needed to overcome LGBTQIA+ discrimination.

Did you know that Monday May 17th marked 30 years of IDAHOBIT?

30 years ago – on May 17, 1990 – the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.

Here at Burdekin, we’re lucky enough to have an incredible, diverse, and accepting workforce. So, we stood together to celebrate, support, and show our pride of the colourful LGBTQIA+ diversity of our workplace by sharing a meal and a delicious rainbow cake!

Here are some snaps from the day! Big thanks to everyone who helped out, especially Matt for cooking up a fantastic feed!

IDAHOBIT2021

Image 1 of 7

Mentoring Men Volunteer Initiative

Volunteering

Common goal

Gender disparity in volunteering

Role Models

Have you ever thought about becoming a Burdekin Foster Carer?

Being a Carer with The Burdekin Association is different from the traditional foster care programs.

Are you ready?

Check out what Burdekin Foster Carers and young people in care have to say.

Volunteers Week 2021

Charitable community days and in-kind giving

What are in-kind donations?

Stanmore property working bee with Charterhall and Flick Macqueen Plant Designs

King Living

Bunnings

BINGO Bins

Bunnings and Taubmans Paints

IDAHOBIT 2021

IDAHOBIT2021

Subscribe for Updates

Connect with us