Youth Archives - The Burdekin Association

Vote for Burdekin’s Local Heroes

August 23, 2024August 22, 2024

Toby Williams and Sian Gordon at Burdekin finalists in the Westfield Local Heroes

We are so excited to report that Burdekin has two employees that have been nominated as finalists in the Westfield Local Heroes – Toby Williams for Westfield Warringah Mall and Sian Gordon for Westfield Hornsby.

The successful hero for each of the 42 Westfield destinations is awarded a $20,000 grant for their organisation, and each finalist receives a $5,000 grant for their organisation or group.

Now in its seventh year, the Westfield Local Heroes program will have contributed $8.6 million to more than 860 successful Local Hero organisations since it began.

About Westfield Local Heroes

Westfield Local Heroes is a recognition and awards program that shines the spotlight on individuals in Australia who make a positive impact to their local community or environment.

About Burdekin’s Westfield Local Heroes

Sian Gordon is an integral part of Burdekin’s Youth Housing program that’s delivered across Hornsby and the Northern Beaches, which supports homeless young people with accommodation and case management. Over the last five years at Burdekin, Sian has demonstrated dedication, commitment, and deep care for the young people that she supports in her roles as a Case Manager and Team Leader.

Vote for Sian

Caring, Committed, Determined

Sian goes above and beyond in her role, as she seeks out support from the local community for donations and goods that go towards providing a welcome and safe environment for the young people to live in. Sian draws out the best in her clients as she works alongside them, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary life skills to transition into more steady accommodation when they are ready to leave the program. The wrap-around supports that Sian provides include linking young people to education, teaching living skills and budgeting, advocacy and lastly, supporting reconciliation with family, where appropriate.

Sian is a committed and passionate community leader who is a true role model for her young people and team. This is reflected in her genuine care for everyone that she works with.

Voting closes at 6pm on Monday September 9.

Toby Williams

Toby is a member of our Risk and Safety Compliance team and has been with Burdekin for the past 15 months. He works to ensure organisational compliance and the safety of the many children and young people we care for, and our dedicated staff who deliver that care.

Vote for Toby

Burdekin assists Toby to support his local Northern Beaches’ community in other ways as Burdekin understands that young people who are connected and maintain an interest in their local community have a protective factor in their lives.

Burdekin encourages and supports Toby in his volunteer endeavours in his role as President of the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association and President of Swimming Metro North East, which is the official swimming district for the Northern Beaches and North Shore areas.

What would it mean to Toby to win the $20,000 grant?

“It would mean the difference between children and young people having access to all that their peers do, and not missing out. Burdekin will use these funds to ensure that young people and their families can purchase the tools they need for their apprenticeship, buy a formal dress and tickets, purchase some work clothes for an interview, and to ensure that they don’t become homeless. Burdekin has also indicated that it will allocate 15 per cent of the funds to support young local referees and 15 per cent to support young local swimmers.”

Toby Williams, Risk and Compliance Office at Burdekin

At times, children and young people are forced to drop out of sport, carnivals or opportunities due to financial constraint. We know sport helps our mental health, as well as providing a positive connection to local communities, as well as adult mentors. The money from the grant will be used to establish a fund for children and young people that’s aligned with the Manly Warringah Football Referees Association and Swimming Metro North East, ensuring every child and young person has the same access to opportunities as their peers.

Please remember to vote for Sian and Toby in the Westfield Local Heroes award program before 6pm on Monday September 9, 2024.

Fun run fundraising

August 23, 2024August 21, 2024

Did you know that you can become a Northern Beaches Hero and choose to fundraise for The Burdekin Association in the Beach2Beach Charity Fun Run and Festival on Sunday August 25?

All you have to do is go to the fundraising section, click on start fundraising and scroll down to select your favourite charity (Burdekin!) You have the option to register, start fundraising (easily set up your own fundraising page) or make a donation (sponsor a fundraiser or give directly to your charity).

The family friendly event offers three course options, catering to everyone from serious runners to families: a 14km route from Dee Why Beach to Newport Beach, a 6km route from Warriewood to Newport Beach, and a 3km route from Mona Vale to Newport Beach. The event promises an awesome atmosphere with live music, international food and fun activities for the kids all at the finish line.

We are also delighted that our community partner the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles is supporting us again too!

Keep in mind for next year that The Burdekin Association also registers for the infamous City2Surf, which this year took place on Sunday August 11. Described as ‘The World’s Largest Fun Run’, this epic 14km course takes you from Sydney CBD to Bondi Beach with a great party atmosphere. The 2023 event hosted 70,000 participants with over $2.9 million already raised for over 400 charities. Participants need to be very organised for this fun run and register early as it is guaranteed to sell out!

A charity fun run in Sydney for all the family — The whole family can join in.

Join us

We would like to invite you – friends, family, colleagues, partners and kind strangers to join us. Some of you will perhaps already be signed up or intending to just for the fun of it, and we ask that you consider joining our team and helping us to fundraise for our young people.

We think fun runs are a particularly great and risk-free way to raise money for your favourite charity. We also like them because:

Anyone can participate
It is great fun
It’s achievable for everyone
It is a shared experience with the community
If you want to get fit, it is a motivation to do so
If you want to raise funds for charity, it’s a great motivation to do so
It’s a great opportunity for making friends
It is less cost prohibitive than many other events
It connects us to the cause – youth homelessness
It promotes physical, social and emotional wellbeing
It promotes feelings of support and inclusion

What’s not to like? Would you consider joining us?

Tips for fundraising:

Some people find it challenging to ask for support for their fundraising efforts – but if you don’t ask, then people don’t know about it. Take Burdekin for example, we don’t like having to ask all the time, but without money coming in from friends, family, partners and philanthropists, we would never reach our fundraising goals.

As soon as you have committed to the event, tell your network of friends, family and colleagues about your efforts to run, walk, skip, hop – whatever way you want to roll – your way. We can help you with this email template that you can send to your contacts to ask them to support your fundraising efforts.

Email template

Dear (donors name),

I have exciting news! This August I have registered to participate in the Beach2Beach Fun Run and Festival (and/or) the City2Surf to raise money for a charity that is close to my heart.

The Burdekin Association offer an incredible service to children, young people and their families. They are passionate about creating solutions to solve the problem of youth homelessness in our community.

I hope that you will consider sponsoring me to participate in (name of run). Race entry fee is not part of my fundraising goals and I have paid for that up front. 100 per cent of all funds raised will go directly towards The Burdekin Association to help fund their support and responses to children, young people and their families.

Please find a link to my fundraising page: (insert link)

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Sincerely (participant’s name)

Northern Beaches - Beach2Beach Fun Run and Festival — For health, wellbeing and a great cause!

How to get started

Personalise your fundraising page: if there is an option to personalise your fundraising page – make sure you do it – add photos and other relevant details. People also love hearing from you – a short video or regular updates to your your page and socials, sharing your progress.

Entry fee: if you are concerned that people won’t support you because running is your hobby – make it clear that you are paying the entry fee yourself. Consider also donating to your own event, to start the ball rolling.

Friends and family: close friends and family have your back, so consider asking them to start the ball rolling with donations – a fundraising page that already has donations is more likely to receive more – strange, huh?

Social media: don’t be afraid to post to your social media networks – again, people can’t donate if they don’t know. If people don’t want to donate, they can just keep scrolling. Post regular updates, one post on your social channels may not be enough to reach many people in your network. Ask your contacts if they would be willing to share your fundraiser too. Ask the charity you are supporting (hopefully Burdekin) do give you a shoutout too – it all adds up!

Thanking people: please make sure to thank people for their support – it only takes a second and goes a long way!

After the event: you would be surprised how many donations come in after the event, make sure to update people after the event via email, text message and/or socials.

Team Burdekin

For the Beach2Beach Fun Run and Festival, teams of twenty-five people or more receive a guaranteed 25 per cent cash back to the charity they are supporting – the more people we can get on Team Burdekin – the more money we can raise for local youth! Team members will also receive a Team Burdekin t-shirt and if there is enough interest, we could organise group training sessions and a bus to the start line!

Partners

In the past we have been the very lucky beneficiaries of our partners’ fundraising efforts. In 2023, Manly Warringah District Club raised $8,262 for the Burdekin Association. If you would like your organisation to participate in any event, of which The Burdekin Association would be a beneficiary, would be delighted. Please let us know how we can help you with this, and as always, we are incredibly grateful for any and all support received.

Registration

There are a number of ways to register.

You can sign up as part of our team by selecting Team Burdekin in the registration process, or
You can register to support Burdekin and select – no to team.
If you are an organisation, you might have your own team set up and can still support Burdekin
Sponsor a runner – support a friend, colleague, or family member

Read more about Community Fundraising here.

Launch of Homelessness Week

August 9, 2024

It’s Homelessness Week 2024.

The Hon. Clare O’Neill launched Homelessness Week this week for Homelessness Australia, the national peak body for homelessness in Australia. She emphasised the significance of her new role, as Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness.

“Housing and homelessness are critical areas. We face a housing supply crisis, a housing affordability crisis, and a housing construction crisis. These issues are not just about infrastructure; housing is the foundation of life for every citizen. The current crisis affects the legitimate expectations of young people and highlights the disparities in wealth distribution. Addressing homelessness will be a pivotal part of my work in this portfolio.”

Clare O’Neill, Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness

Clare O’Neill, Federal Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness

“The current crisis we are experiencing in this country is feeding into the homeless in this country. There is no distinction between the big problems we are having in the commercial market and the people experiencing homelessness.”

“All of the workers that I have spoken to about this issue, they have advised that they are seeing people coming into homelessness services who would never have come through the door 10 years ago.”

Anne Hollonds, Australian National Children’s Commissioner was also a keynote speaker at the launch of Homelessness Week.

“We’ve all enjoyed seeing Australia’s medal tally in the 2024 Olympics. But, on child wellbeing, we rank a low 32nd out of 38 OECD countries on child wellbeing, right near the bottom. And, that’s just one indicator that we’re failing on when it comes to children’s policy.”

“We saw last week, the Productivity Commission saying that we’re going backwards on key indicators for children. We saw the Mission Australia Survey last week showing that not only are there high rates of homelessness, but two out of five young people had missed out on the basics such as housing, food, clothing, school and transport. The research today shows extraordinary numbers of children homeless, including unaccompanied children seeking help, but not getting the help that they need.”

Anne Hollonds, Australian National Children’s Commissioner

“Poverty is a key part of this story, along with other complex needs, like mental health issues, disabilities, learning problems and of course child maltreatment. Stable housing is a core anchor point from which everything to meet the needs of children hangs. As National Children’s Commissioner, my focus is on the human rights of children and young people. Housing is a human right of children under Article 27 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which Australia signed in 1990.”

“When asked about what ‘home’ means, children will often talk about the concept of home – stability and security of their most important relationships, especially in the family. This is where safe and stable housing comes in. It is the foundation for the conditions that enable the child to get their needs met, especially through family relationships and through the local community that they’re living in – friends and teachers at school, and community activities, like sport. In contrast, the transient and marginalised life that homelessness brings, serves to rob the child not only of a roof over their head, the stable relationships that they need for their health, learning development and wellbeing.”

“Domestic family and sexual violence (DFSV) plays a key role in homelessness. As we now understand, it is much more prevalent than we first thought. Unfortunately, children as victim survivors of DFSV have largely been overlooked in child policy, despite the fact that the groundbreaking Australian Child Maltreatment Study showed that DFSV is the most common form of child maltreatment and it usually goes together with other forms of child maltreatment. Over 62 per cent of Australians have suffered one or more form of child maltreatment, much more than we thought.”

Discover more about Homelessness Week here.

And, read our most recent blog post on Homelessness Week here.

Ben & Jerry’s Volunteers Transform Properties!

July 5, 2024July 2, 2024

At Burdekin, we believe in the power of community and the impact of collective effort. Recently, we experienced a great example of this when the amazing team of 60 Ben & Jerry’s volunteers from all across Australia and New Zealand joined us for their Community Volunteer Day. Their hard work and dedication made a significant difference in the lives of the young people we support. We couldn’t be more grateful.

Transforming homes, one brushstroke at a time

In the Inner West, the Ben & Jerry’s volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work on one of our properties, making it feel like a true home for the two young people in our care. From assembling furniture, painting walls, relaying pavers and sprucing the garden, their efforts have transformed the space, creating a warm and welcoming environment.

Bringing New Life to Our Gardens

On the Northern Beaches, the Ben & Jerry’s crew tackled the overgrown garden with enthusiasm and energy. They weeded, planted mature trees, laid down mulch in the garden beds, created a herb garden, sanded and painted outdoor garden furniture and assembled a lovely outdoor garden setting. Thanks to their hard work, the outdoor space now looks inviting and beautiful – a perfect place for the young residents to relax and feel at home.

Supporting Young People on their Journey to Adulthood

Both of these properties are currently home to young people aged 16 and 17 who are in the process of leaving supported care and transitioning into independent living and adulthood. These young individuals aren’t completely ready to be independent, and having a supportive, nurturing environment is crucial. The efforts of Ben & Jerry’s staff and volunteers have enhanced these spaces, making them better places for these young people to continue receiving the support they need.

Celebrating a Meaningful Partnership

Burdekin is immensely grateful for the partnership we have with Ben & Jerry’s. Their volunteer work has improved our properties and shown the young people in our care that they are valued and supported by their community.

Together, we can continue to empower young lives and build a brighter future for everyone.

To read more about volunteering opportunities with Burdekin, click here.

Expanding opportunities for Avalon Youth Hub

May 10, 2024May 8, 2024

Exciting news has emerged for young people and their families on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, as Northern Beaches Council has endorsed a significant development for Avalon Youth Hub!

The former Avalon Customer Contact Centre will now be offered to Avalon Youth Hub, enabling the expansion of its services and providing additional support to tackle the challenges faced by young people. This announcement couldn’t come at a better time with the increasing concern of mental health and wellbeing of young people.

The Avalon Youth Hub is a successful collaboration of support services, with The Burdekin Association as the lead agency. The service providers work together to make a difference to the mental health and wellbeing of young people, providing free one-on-one counselling, case management and mentoring, advice, referrals and general support to young people.

Left to right – Zed Tintor – Regional Manager, Justene Gordon – CEO, Nelly Martin – Community Engagement, Tanya Preston – Co-ordinator Youth Services at The Burdekin Association

“Last year, The Avalon Youth Hub provided 285 sessions of free counselling through KYDS, Mission Australia, headspace Brookvale, Sydney Drug and Education Counselling Centre (SDECC) and The Burdekin Association. And, 350 students across the Pittwater region were informed about support services available to them. Now, we can increase the number of services to affected young people. It will undoubtedly have a positive transformational impact on young people in our communities.”
Justene Gordon, CEO of The Burdekin Association, Lead Agency of the Avalon Youth Hub

A Hub for Support

With the acquisition of this new space, the Hub will be able to extend its reach and offer additional workshops and information sessions. This expansion is a testament to the commitment of the Avalon Youth Hub to address the diverse needs of young individuals and the broader community.

Avalon Youth Hub's new premises, the former Avalon Customer Contact Centre. — Avalon Youth Hub’s new premises – the former Avalon Customer Contact Centre.

Expanding Horizons

The decision to allocate the former Avalon Customer Contact Centre to the Avalon Youth Hub follows a thorough viability review. Through an Expressions of Interest process, Northern Beaches Council carefully evaluated several proposals and ultimately endorsed a community license agreement with The Burdekin Association acting as the lead agency of the Avalon Youth Hub.

Community Impact

The decision to endorse the expansion of the Hub is a testament to Northern Beaches Council’s commitment to the wellbeing of young people on the Northern Beaches. By investing in initiatives that address mental health and support systems, it has taken a proactive approach to tackle a pressing issue faced by the community. The availability of free counselling, case management, mentoring, advice, referrals, and general support services will serve as a safety net for young individuals who may be struggling with their mental health or experiencing difficulties in their lives.

To find out more about the Avalon Youth Hub, please visit their web site. Drop-in visitors are welcome Mondays 10am–5pm and Wednesdays 2-5pm. 59 Old Barrenjoey Road, Pittwater. You can also reach them on 0487 936 875.