On Friday the 24th a group of students from year 8-11 travelled to Kyabram for a Leadership Workshop held by Kasey Williams; youth engagement officer for the Shire of Campaspe. Students from the local region were inspired by the stories guest speaker Luke Owens’ had to share. In 2012 Luke met a young homeless girl that ignited a passion to address the issue of homelessness in Bendigo. Over 3 years Luke’s goal of fundraising $100,000 quickly rose to 4 million dollars; halving the percentage of homeless people in Bendigo. Luke expressed to us that we should never underestimate our power just because we are young. He told us that it’s the young people of the community who are most likely to make a difference.
The rest of the day was run by Kate Wild. She trained us how to put our ideas to work and how to go about situations in the most effective way. The Shire of Campaspe has granted each school who attended, $1000 each to make something happen in the community. Echuca College has decided to put the money towards a Youth Festival featuring music, games, activities and more. This will be an opportunity for entertainment during youth week and also an opportunity to create a platform for young local musicians to perform. Furthermore, the festival will raise more money to fundraise for a community project which we are yet to decide. All in all, it was a fantastic day and all who attended took something from it. Thank you Casey Williams for the opportunity and an extra thankyou to CCLLEN for supplying us with transportation!
Sarah Hercott
