The Senior Student Council participated in a Leadership camp in Perth last week, which was an inspiring and humbling experience for both the students and the staff who accompanied them.
The Salvation Army’s ‘Beyond the Classroom’ program provides opportunities for the students to gain a better understanding, through hands-on experience, of the need to proactively support volunteer groups and their fundraising efforts. Wednesday began with a brief workshop, followed by a walking tour of the Doorways Perth Emergency Relief program. The students visited Bridge House, a detox and rehab assessment facility, as well as a homelessness transition facility known as The Beacon. That evening the students were inspired to add to the Student Council’s donation of woollen socks for the Salvation Army’s Street Outreach van, spending another $200 on tuna, toothbrushes and soap.
The next morning students joined the Salvos Breakfast Run in Wellington Square to hand out their donations, and took the time to meet, listen to and swap stories with people living on the street. This was already a beautiful and humbling experience, when one of the students asked to open the bus so she could get her jumper…and then promptly gave the jumper away to a man who had mentioned the weather was getting cold. He was so grateful.
From there the group headed to the Perth Convention Centre for Halogen’s ‘The IMAGINATION’ youth leadership program, which is like TED Talks for teenagers. This dynamic program aims to encourage young people to harness the power of their networks and work together with their peers to create real change in their schools and communities. Each session included one or two speakers, question times, short videos, learning exercises, student involvement, music and student interaction. Students also had the chance to visit the accompanying expo of tertiary educators, charities and not-for-profit groups who had valuable information on future career options, volunteer opportunities and leadership development opportunities.
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