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FleetPartners offers driving opportunities for youth

Burdekin Learning to Drive Program

The road to independence just got a little easier for our young people thanks to an incredible helping hand from FleetPartners and The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The Burdekin Association will now have the ability to provide more young people across the Northern Beaches and Inner West of Sydney with essential learn-to-drive hours and support.

We are thrilled with the news that FleetPartners have generously provided a dedicated vehicle for Burdekin’s existing learn-to-drive program, which to date, has relied on staff and volunteers lending their own vehicles.

Learning to drive is an important rite of passage for any young person – it provides the freedom and independence in social situations, for appointments and employment.

Julian Russell (Eclipx Group (FleetPartners) CEO) and Justene Gordon (The Burdekin Association CEO)

The Burdekin Association learn-to-drive program provides support and driving practice hours to young people living in out-of-home care without the family support required to complete driver training towards securing their licence.

Not only does the program provide essential driving hours and practice, important relationships are also developed between young people and volunteers, who become mentors, not just driving instructors.

“The road to independence is very challenging for young people in our out-of-home care and youth housing programs. This support from FleetPartners and the Sea Eagles allows us to provide more opportunities for young people to accumulate driving practice hours required to attain their licence and to progress on to employment,” said The Burdekin Association CEO, Justene Gordon.

“We’re proud community partners with the Sea Eagles and we thank the Club for their initiative in bringing FleetPartners together with our learn-to-drive program.”

An Eclipx Group business, FleetPartners is a strong contributor to the communities in which they operate. Providing a vehicle to The Burdekin Association learn-to-drive program is just one of many meaningful ways they contribute to the community.

“We are very proud to extend our support to The Burdekin Association. We recognise the important role a driver licence plays in providing independence, building confidence, improving employment prospects, and proving a pathway to financial stability for the young people participating in this program. This positive impact is why we’re so pleased to be involved,” said Eclipx Group (FleetPartners) CEO, Julian Russell.

To find out more about FleetPartners, visit fleetpartners.com.au.
To find out more about The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles please visit seaeagles.com.au

Forum for Parents on Gaming

DY Project is an initiative driven by Burdekin Youth Services - Focusing on Young People and Gaming

Please join us for a face-to-face forum for parents on gaming. The forum aims to provide education about your child’s screen time and tools to deal with it.

When: Wednesday 25th May from 6:00pm – 8:pm

Address: Northern Beaches Secondary College, Freshwater Senior Campus Theatre, 153 Harbord Road, Freshwater NSW 2096.

Why conduct a Forum For Parents on Gaming?

Parents are feeling helpless with the new normal of constant screen time. So, where do we go from here? How can parents help their children find balance between screen time and other activities without causing stress and friction? DY Project is covering the potential harms and risks of screen time and solutions. We are running a face-to-face Community Forum on May 25th, 2022 in partnership with special experts from GameAware, Headspace & The DY Project.

This is a prevention and intervention project aiming to support the many families that have found their children dependent on gaming throughout COVID times and who are concerned there may not be enough balance in their social, emotional, and physical lives, and wanting them to get back on track.

Special Guest Speaker, Andrew Kinch from GameAware, has 30 years gaming experience and 15 years of well-being and teaching experience. His skillset is primed to tackle this issue by using Intelligent Gaming Strategies to help gamers enjoy their games without it being the number one priority in their lives. Andrew approaches problematic gaming with experience-based strategies and current information on the psychology of games. In 2020, GameAware was awarded the AMP’s Tomorrow Fund and works collaboratively with HeadSpace to enrich the lives of young people and their family through strategies to make playing video games a hobby, not a habit. Working with parents, youth professionals and schools, Andrew and his team of mentors help empower through education and tools to create healthy gaming habits. Each month GameAware run a range of online and face-to-face programs to support the community.

GambleAware’s purpose is to work towards zero gambling-related harm in NSW through research, education and support for individuals and communities. The work GambleAware does concerns everyone in NSW who is affected by gambling. GambleAware work with adults and young people, families, schools, councils, community groups and the gambling industry to help prevent and address gambling-related harm.

Register

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TQTLBYH

Please click on the link to take a brief survey

Background:

Our Dee Why Project is an initiative driven by The Burdekin Association Youth Services – focusing on young people and gaming, a face-to-face forum one we are very excited to hold!  Due to COVID times it’s been over two years since any forums have been held with presenters at the forefront. In case you’re not available to attend we will be filming the event and posting it up for your viewing should you be keen.

  • This forum is an opportunity to learn as a case manager the ins and outs of supporting our youth around the trials and tribulations of the world of gaming. Or, as a parent to gain amazing insight to the world of gaming seen through a young person’s eyes. What draws them in? What’s a healthy amount of time to game? Is my teenager dependant on gaming? Andrew Kinch is our key presenter, a previous school teacher also experienced working with youth at risk, his Company GameAware covers workshops, bridging the gaps between gamers, parents and professionals. Reducing conflict around gaming at home, minimizing compulsion and escapism by building resilience.
  • Headspace will also be presenting and covering their expertise in the area and linking into services and treatment options.
  •  GambleAware’s purpose is to work towards zero gambling-related harm in NSW through research, education and support for individuals and communities. GambleAware is funded by the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund.

Get Fit for Homeless Youth – 30 day fitness challenge

PIF 30 Day Fitness Challenge

We have joined the fundraising efforts of the Property Industry Association (PIF) to fight youth homelessness with a 30 day fitness challenge which aims to raise $250,000 – will you support us?

Check out who of the Burdekin team has signed up for the PIF 30 Day Fitness Challenge, we would love it if you could support us! We have set a modest aim to raise $1,000, every single donation counts! And of course, we would like to overshoot the goal and contribute as much as possible to the overall goal.

About

PIF wish to raise $250,000 towards The Haven Project which includes the renovation of a house in Balgowlah into a new home for young people. You can read more about the project here: New Home in the Making and here: Haven House Balgowlah. We wanted to thank PIF so much for their efforts in getting this fundraiser off the ground for our project partners – SMLXL Projects, Bridge Housing and others, such an amazing community effort!

Burdekin are getting active in the name of team building, mental health, and physical health, but most importantly to Get Fit to For Homeless Youth.

#pif30daychallenge #getfitforhomelessyouth

Youth homelessness affects 44,000 young Australians, and each night, 1 in 3 young people are being turned away from supported accommodation services.

The Property Industry Foundation exists to solve this problem of youth homelessness. We bring together the property and construction industry to build homes for homeless youth through our Haven Project.

Every day for 30 days from 2 – 31 May, we are walking, running, cycling and everything in between to raise funds as we go – please support us!

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Our Burdekin Volunteer Program turns two!

We are holding Volunteer Training Dates in May

It is two years since we started a Volunteer Program back in May 2020 during National Volunteers Week. Since then, we have gone on to recruit wonderful volunteers doing amazing things for us and our young people. Or maybe the volunteers recruited us because it is definitely a win-win relationship.

Read more about what our current volunteers are doing here.

To celebrate our 2nd birthday we are launching our next volunteer recruitment drive with training scheduled for:

Thursday 19th May from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and one further day the following week to be confirmed depending on time availability of volunteers, also held via zoom – both training dates are compulsory to become a Burdekin Volunteer.

If you love young people and have between 2 and 4 hours to donate per week this might be for you! Make a difference to the lives of young people and your community. Above all you will also meet new people, gain new skills and enhance your own wellbeing.

Volunteering your time, skills, and resources is one of the most powerful ways to make a difference, to help others, and as it turns out, to enhance your wellbeing.

National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering and will be held on 16 – 22 May 2022. This year’s theme is Better Together. Volunteering brings people together; it builds communities and creates a better society for everyone. Will you join us? You won’t regret it!

To register for this course, please complete an Expression of Interest form or email: volunteer@burdekin.org.au.

More on volunteering with Burdekin:

Volunteer with Burdekin, Skilled Volunteers and Current Vacancies.

Youth Homelessness Matters Day

Supporting young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness

Youth Homelessness Matters Day on April 20th, raises awareness about youth homelessness and advocates learning about and understanding youth homelessness, stimulates debate for change and advocates to support those who are currently experiencing homelessness.

Current stats:

Current statistics show, that on any given night, around 28,000 young people do not have a bed of their own to sleep in, they might be couch-surfing with mates, squeezing into crisis accommodation or sleeping on the streets – some people might not even recognise themselves they are indeed homeless.

From their information in the 2016 Census the ABS reported: On any given night in Australia 116,427 Australians are homeless. 27,680 of these are young people aged 12-24 years.

Regardless of what we might think, young people become homeless almost always due to no fault of their own. The main causes are family breakdown, domestic and family violence and the ongoing housing crisis.

The Youth Homelessness Matters Day campaign for 2022:

Their stories

Many of the young people who come to us have experienced multiple challenges in their short, young lives and we provide the support they need to reach their full potential.

At Burdekin, we believe every young person has the right to a life that offers opportunities to fulfil their potential. Many of our young people have gone on to have happy, healthy and successful lives because we were able to provide them with the support that they needed. You can read some of the stories from our young people here.

You can support our work in many different ways – in kind, in cash and in time. 

Make a donation: