When Milissa Christian, the team leader for Youth Projects, YWCA in the South Eastern Regions of NSW, spoke to Rotary Nowra about the government funded “Youth Frontiers” program, many Rotarians saw the similarity between it and the objectives of numerous youth programs that Rotary coordinates.
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Youth Frontiers is a NSW Government Youth Mentoring Program that targets Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 students who have the capacity to benefit from youth mentoring that focuses on leadership and civic engagement.
Every year, more than 1,200 young people will have the opportunity to participate in the program delivered across NSW.
The Minister responsible for Youth, Ray Williams, has announced that four organisations will receive a share of $6.6 million over three years to deliver the program.
The organisations delivering Youth Frontiers from 2018 to 2020 are MTC Australia, Raise Foundation, Save the Children and YWCA NSW.
The program requires two elements - students who want take the opportunity to become more engaged with their community, and mentors with life skills who would like guide students.
Milissa said that there are numerous small community projects around the Shoalhaven, providing bush management, gardening and toy refurbishment for underprivileged children as examples and that the projects are only limited by the imaginations of students and mentors.
Milissa and her colleagues, at this point, are promoting the program to community and school-based organisations and compiling a list of potential mentors.
She said that mentors will be matched with an individual student or a group of threee students interested in the same project and will take part in a minimum of 30 hours mentoring, including at least 15 hours of during school hours where possible.
The program will give students an opportunity to build life skills and self-confidence by working collaboratively with their mentors to undertake a community project that makes a positive difference in their local community.
The program will culminate in a showcase where students will present the results of their community projects.
When asked what is required of a mentor, Milissa said that mentors do not require previous experience – just the desire to want to support young people to reach their potential, and an ability to commit to volunteering two to-three hours each week, over a six-month period.
Mentors must be over the age of 18 years and there is no maximum age to be a mentor.
When asked how to apply to become a mentor, Milissa said that the surest way is to register your expression of interest by emailing youthfrontiers@ywcansw.com.au using the subject line: Youth Mentoring - Youth Frontiers (Voluntary) application via Ethical Jobs.
A Youth Frontiers coordinator will then get in touch with you, conduct a short phone interview and send you an application form. You will be required to complete a Working with Children Check and National Criminal Check (free) and attend training with other volunteer mentors.
