YMCA WA Quarterly Newsletter: April 2019
Contents
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Ross announces extension of services, wrap up of events and what's to come for the Y!
On Sunday 3 March, Leederville was vibing as approximately 2,000 young people revelled at YMCA's first Collision Festival, a free youth-led event aimed at empowering, showcasing and celebrating the many talents and achievements of young people across Western Australia.
Based at the iconic YMCA HQ arts hub, the Festival ran from midday to 10pm. Festival goers, most aged between early teens to mid-twenties, enjoyed interactive workshops and inspiring keynote presentations from 23-year-old disability rights activist and youngest ever senator, Jordon Steele-John from the Greens' Senate, former Matilda's Olympian turned lawyer Tal Karp and a panel of young women (Jamilla, Bella Nicholls from Demon Days and from Phoebe from Your Girl Pho) talking about women within the music industry.
The three live music stages were heaving. The main stage showcased local WA headliners including Demon Days, Spacey Jane, Your Girl Pho, whilst the Hip Hop stage was on fire as local talent spat out dope raps, emcees enjoyed open mic sessions and street dancers showcased their epic moves. The Sweet Oblivion stage, in the YMCA HQ gig space, was literally throbbing with people pogoing and banging to the sounds of SuperHighway, King Mantis and Homebrand.
"We are delighted with the Festival and how well it was received. We wanted to combine entertainment with community engagement to empowered young people from all walks of life and I think we achieved that!”, explains Tia Sandhu, YMCA Youth Projects Coordinator.
Jacqui Gilmour, mother to a 15-year-old who attended confirmed "My daughter attended Collision Festival on Sunday with friends. I want to say a huge thanks and congratulate you for providing this safe, fun environment for youths. She had an awesome time!"
"We're hoping to make this youth festival an annual event and hope in time it will grow into something similar in size as Fringe Festival as it is desperately needed for our local young people to provide a space for them to be heard, network and be inspired by other young people", confirmed Ross Kyrwood, CEO of YMCA WA.
You don’t have to wait another year for the next festival! We hold a range of events throughout the year across WA. Stay up to date with what’s coming up by following YMCA WA Instagram and Facebook and for things happening locally in Leederville follow YMCA HQ on Instagram and Facebook.
To view photos from the day click here.
Photos courtesy of Lisa Astle
As YMCA, fondly known as the Y, is a national movement and Youth Week is on different dates throughout Australia, the Y has decided to call April Youth Month, to capture all the great activities we’re doing around the country. Here’s a snapshot of what we’re doing here in Western Australia.
12/04 - Young CEO for a day – At YMCA we believe in the power of inspired young people and one initiative we consider to be instrumental in encouraging and listening to our young people is our Young CEO for a Day. On 12 April Carrie O’Leary from Butler Outside School Hours Care, will be the YMCA WA’s Young CEO, and will spend the day with our CEO, Ross Kyrwood, and speak with him about her hope to create support programs for vulnerable children and review current policies, driving her passion with safeguarding children and giving them the voice and a safe space. Carrie will have a chance to develop her skills in leadership, advocacy and networking through this exceptional experience.
13/04 – Fab Fun Day Out - The Base@Belmont Youth Committee, a group of young people aged between 11 to 16 years, invite you to a free ‘Fab Fun Day Out’ on Saturday 13 April, 12-3pm at Belmont Skate Park. Young people and families will be able to enjoy a free sausage sizzle, art, workshops, petting zoo, a dope DJ, bungee trampoline and fun with the Freedom Fairies.
Base@Belmont provides support for young people between the ages of 11-25 through a variety of activities, workshops and programs. To check out what Base @ Belmont are up to at the centre and any upcoming events - follow them on Instagram!
View the Facebook event here.
16/04 – Vincent Hip Hop Dance Workshop - YMCA HQ has partnered with The City of Vincent to provide a free Hip Hop dance workshop on Tuesday 16 April, 5-6pm. Award winning dancer Tane Tipoki will be hosting the workshop for beginner or intermediate dancers aged 10 to 17. Bookings are essential and can be made through the Facebook link below.
This follows the HQ Hoops & Jams youth engagement program which is running for a further few weeks, focusing on engaging young people through celebrating the positive aspects of street culture through the media of Hip Hop and street basketball. If you like playing 3x3 basketball, spitting some raps or busting some dope moves come down to YMCA HQ in Leederville, 5pm to 7pm every Wednesday till May.
View the Facebook event here.
16/04 – Narrogin Youth Week Day Out – Calling all young people of Narrogin! Join us on Tuesday 16 April, 11am – 3pm at Gnarojin Park (Narrogin Skate Park) during the upcoming school holidays to celebrate Youth Week! This is a FREE community event designed to celebrate the talents and contributions of young people aged 10 to 25 years. Activities will include skate competitions, 3x3 basketball, Konga Dance Fitness class, music, freebies, youth health promotions and of course food and drink. This event is proudly brought to you by Shire of Narrogin, YMCA WA, Avon Community Services, Wheatbelt Primary Health and Skateboarding WA.
View the Facebook event here.
You may have heard over the radio on your local HIT FM network, a familiar brand name mentioned.... us!
Our YMCA WA Early Learning Centres ran a radio campaign from January to February.
The advertisements highlighted the challenges of parenting with a dash of cheeky humour, as we know how hard it is - so let YMCA help!
To find your nearest centre visit our website here.
If you’ve not yet been to one of our early learning centres why not visit one of our forthcoming free open days:
To stay up to date with further offers and see what our centres are up to, visit our ELC Facebook Page here.
YMCA WA have been successful in retaining and growing the RSAS Program in Newman from one to three schools in the new year. The services will now be carried out in Newman Primary School, South West Primary School and Newman High School
RSAS is an initiative which works with local providers to increase attendance rates in remote schools so all children get a good education. Many children in remote communities are not going to school every day, with attendance in some communities extremely low.
So YMCA developed programs within the RSAS, such as Fuel2Learn, which started out by providing breakfast on the RSAS bus to give students a good start to the day. Since then the program has grown and developed into a powerful means of increasing not just school attendance but giving families and young locals a sense of pride and achievement.
One young man who joined Fuel2Learn with a 0% school attendance in March 2018 clocked up an impressive 60% attendance level by June 2018 thanks to the program.
Zia is the mother of Adrian (12) and Ciarn (13) who often missed school when staying with relatives. She said her children told her about the Fuel2Learn program and said they wanted to join in.
“I have seen such an improvement in their general learning at school, their grades have improved and they are now enthusiastic cooks. Not only do they help cook at school for the meal program but they also help me cook at home for our family and their siblings,” she said.
This is an extremely positive outcome for the YMCA and indicates the quality of the services that we provide.
The Prime Minster and Cabinet through the new contract has recognised the complexities of delivering this program in certain regions, to support school attendance. As schools attendance is extremely important, YMCA RSAS is focusing on community development, partnerships and family engagement to build capacity for families and young people and skills to support education and outcomes.
The contract end date is 30 June 2021 with no extension dates. This is due to Prime Minster and Cabinet undertaking a full review of funding and program strategies in the Pilbara and Kimberley region and an outcome based funding model to be announced within the next 12 months.
YMCA WA has won the retender of the Child Health Nurse in the Pilbara region (Port Hedland, Newman and surrounding regions) for a further three years.
The Health Nurse has a dual function of monthly support to the Child Parent Centre (CPC) in Port Hedland, as well as predominately undertaking child parenting and health support to the Pilbara and surrounding regions from Newman.
We are currently recruiting for this role with the support from the Department of Health. While this is a clinical role, the position is the first point of call for all new babies born in the Pilbara region and is a gateway connection for the community with intentional links to our ELC centres and services.
For more information on the role please contact the General Manager - Pilabara, Ann-Marie Kelly through email.
Above (left to right): RSAS Students, Ciarn, Zia and Adrain.
YMCA Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre has welcomed its new Sport and Community Manager, who aims to turn the centre into a community hub.
At 22 years of age, Tia Sandhu, over the last eight years has had mountainous experience with the Y as a previous Recreation Manager, Youth Projects Coordinator and Global Change Agent and now in her newly appointed position as YMCA Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre Sport and Community Manager. With her youth projects experience, in particular delivering the successful Collision Festival on 3 March at YMCA HQ, Tia aims to develop long term strategies to engage with youth in the region and activate spaces within the centre.
YMCA WA received a five year contract extension to continue managing the Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre until 30 June 2024.
Currently YMCA WA is conducting a youth survey in Narrogin, designed to understand the current needs and wants of young people aged 9-25 years old within the community. With the successful contract extension, YMCA WA is working closely and collaboratively with the Shire of Narrogin and other key stakeholders to develop a youth strategy for Narrogin, and hopes to expand YMCA’s footprint in town regarding youth engagement.
Congratulations to the team at Narrogin for all your hard work, we look forward to seeing what's to come!
Above: Tia Sandhu, Centre Manager.
Photo courtesy of Michael Traill, Narrogin Observer