A Legacy of Hope

In the early days of Youth Opportunities, our founder Peter Marshman OAM used to take out advertising space in the Sunday Mail to spread more awareness of his emerging charity. We are so grateful to still have support from some of those people who read about us in the paper twenty years ago – and Joy Kelly is no exception!

Joy heard about Youth Opportunities nearly 20 years ago and has been a valued supporter of ours ever since. Her passion for our cause was reignited many years ago when she heard Youth Opportunities’ trainer (and graduate of the Youth Opportunities’ Personal Leadership Program!) Courtney Grigg give a speech about our work to Joy’s fellowship group. After being an annual student sponsor for many years, Joy decided to leave a gift for Youth Opportunities in her Will, leaving a legacy of hope for young people in South Australia.

We were delighted to catch up with Joy recently and talk to her about what inspires her to keep supporting Youth Opportunities after all this time!

What inspires you to keep on giving?
“Youth Opportunities is a wonderful cause I’ve always connected with, and I love knowing that my support has gone towards helping improve young people’s lives. When I used to read Youth Opportunities’ ads in the Sunday paper, week after week I was seeing these stories of lives changed and it gave me such great hope for the future of these students.”

What stood out to you when you attended your first Youth Opportunities’ graduation at Woodville High School?
“I remember a young girl who was finding it so hard to even stand up in front of the audience at graduation. She had tears in her eyes as she read out her speech, but her Youth Opportunities’ trainer stood by her side and was there as a support to help her achieve this goal of public speaking herself. It was then that I thought, wow, this is something special right here.”

We work with 15-year-olds to support them to be the best they can be. If you could give advice to your 15-year-old self – what would it be?
“I would tell myself to apply to do the Personal Leadership Program with Youth Opportunities! There are so many benefits that I wish I had had the opportunity to do the program in my younger years.”

Why did you decide to leave a gift in your Will for Youth Opportunities?
“Giving young people the opportunity to be their best, no matter their circumstances, is really important to me. I like that through Youth Opportunities, I can see the impact of my gift each time a young person graduates from their program. The gift I made reflects my belief in the importance of Youth Opportunities, which I hope will continue through my legacy.”

Thank you Joy, for your unending support and belief in the young people that we support!