Well 2014 has come and gone and we are well into this year already. In 2014 we finished the year running 37 programs with 574 students graduating from our program. We are in a better financial position coming into 2015 than we were at the beginning of 2014, which is a credit to the whole Youth Opportunities team.
We had an amazing event in December called ‘’Stars in the Garden’’ which was at the home of Robert and Melanie Champion de Crespigny, where Sandy, a student from Craigmore High School, inspire us with the progress she has made at school, with her family and with her friends since completing the Youth Opportunities Personal Leadership Program. We also had the pleasure of hearing from The Honourable Alexander Downer who regaled us with stories of his experiences in London in his role of High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. We raised nearly $100,000 at this event which is a remarkable outcome. A special thanks to Robert and Melanie for the use of their home and the work they put in to make the event such a resounding success.
Our next major event is our Golf Day on Friday May 8th 2015.
In Term 1 this year we have 8 programs running and another 14 programs running in Term 2. We have a target of 700 students this year, a big a jump from 574; this target is limited by the amount of funds we can raise. To increase our students graduating by 126 we need to raise an additional $126,000 from events or donations. Plus, Schools will also be required to find additional funds to enable them to pay their component of the cost of the program.
And then there are the many students that want to participate in our program that can’t, because of a lack of funds either at a school level or our own lack of resources. For those of you who have seen a student presentation or been to a graduation you know what these kids are missing out on. It frustrates me and I’m sure that now you know about it, you’re probably frustrated as well.
We believe it’s unacceptable that these students miss out. What are we doing about it? Well, we’re increasing our efforts in fundraising, seeking out new supporters, donors and grantors, embarking on an awareness campaign later this year … basically anything and everything we CAN do to ensure no student who really wants to do our Personal Leadership Program misses out.
Please keep continuing to support Youth Opportunities as every child deserves a chance to succeed.
Peter Carey
Chief Executive