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Celebrate our Volunteers with us

We recently celebrated National Volunteers Week as well as the second anniversary of the Burdekin Volunteer Program so, we saw this as a perfect time to celebrate our volunteers and all they do for our young people with an appreciation dinner. Of course we appreciate our volunteers every day of the week.

Just like our dinner last year, our volunteers received certificates of appreciation for their extraordinary contribution during the challenging times over the past two years as we navigated working with Covid-19. We acknowledged particularly the huge impact a trusted adult can have on the life of a young person, especially one who has experienced childhood trauma.

It really has been a time like no other and we thank each and every volunteer!

We have recently just completed another round of volunteer training and cannot wait to welcome new recruits into the team. We are currently in the process of “matching” some of our volunteer recruits with clients. We take this process seriously, looking at the skills, interests and availability of the volunteer and thinking through who might be the most suitable young person and whether they’re ready for a new adult in their lives. Many of our young people have lost trust in adults so it’s important that they are in a good place to be ready and willing to meet with a volunteer mentor. When the match works well, it is brilliant and over time, a very strong bond can develop. As one of our young clients said, “it’s so good that there’s someone who wants to meet with me who isn’t paid to meet with me.”

In the meantime, if you would like to know more about volunteering we have lots of information on our website, you might like to start here and then search volunteer. Please get in touch if you are interested and we will let you know once the dates for the next sessions have been confirmed – we love hearing from you. If you have any questions, please email: volunteer@burdekin.org.au.

Donate to WIN

Donate to Burdekin and win big with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Donating to your favourite charity is always rewarding but now you can win something big too! Not only will your money go towards the education of our young people but it also entitles you to be entered into a prize draw to win a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles package!

Donate to Burdekin and win a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ultimate match day experience!

Donate for the win!

Our donate to win draw is a fun way for Burdekin and our partners Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to raise funds whilst giving you the chance to win the ultimate game day experience!

To enter

To enter our draw, all you have to do is donate to our end of financial year tax giving campaign before midnight on Thursday 30th June. All donations no matter how big or small are automatically entered into the draw to win.

Win a 2022 Sea Eagles jersey signed by the NRL squad. Plus ….

Donate to Burdekin and win a Manly Warringah Sea Eagles ultimate match day experience

The prize also includes 4 Category 1 tickets to a game of your choice and the possibility to form Guard of Honour – terms and conditions apply.

Simply donate to our Educational Inclusion Pays Off Campaign and you will be automatically entered into our donate to win draw – it’s that easy!

Terms and conditions of Donate to Win.

Reasons to consider Foster Care

Young people in need of homes

Right here, in Sydney, there are children and young people in need of a safe and stable home. A home could be provided by one person, two people or any existing family unit. Whether the home mimics a traditional family, or a non-traditional family type unit, is not as important as whether young people have a safe place and nurturing carers.

Could this be you?

Could you provide a safe, caring and nurturing environment to provide the foundation to overcome challenges in order for a young person to live their life to their full of potential? Could you experience the privilege of walking side by side a young person as they grow, as their personality begins to emerge, and they find their footing and grow in confidence?

As at June 2020, in Australia almost 46,000 children were in out-of-home care.

Being a Foster Carer with us

The children and young people in our care are considered ‘older’, as they are between the ages of 9 and 18, but most of our children and young people are teenagers. Embarking on a journey as a carer may appear challenging but it need not be, at Burdekin we are able to support you through your journey to becoming a carer and will walk alongside you each step of the journey. As a Burdekin Foster Carer you are part of a team. We don’t stop providing support following your initial training, our team provide ongoing, wrap-around support on an ongoing basis. This included post placement with a young person in care.

We would love to hear from you if you think you could provide a safe place for one of these young people – we can also support you with accommodation, if that may be a barrier to providing care for young people.

Children and young people who are in the Out of Home Care system have all come from “hard places”. They all have a history of trauma and broken attachments and that may mean that as a carer, you may need to learn to manage their big feelings and emotions with a little more skills and training, but we will be working alongside you to provide you with that support. Remember that older foster children and young people are just like any children and young people – in need of love, stability, and a secure home, to thrive. These bright individuals will have stuff to work through, building a connection may take a bit of time, but if you hang in there, you may get to see the walls come down as you learn more about them and they learn to trust you.

Are you a little bit curious about how it would work for you? Please chat to us and find out how it’s possible.

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!

Donate

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.