With the 2019 school year now underway, the Buderim Foundation Youth Committee is set to launch its third annual Youth in Philanthropy Project this week, on Friday 15th February at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Buderim Foundation Youth Committee Chair Graham Tamblyn said the afternoon workshop is a leadership program aiming to introduce the concept of philanthropy and its value to young people, in order to inspire them to adopt it throughout their lives.
“Philanthropy is vitally important to a thriving society and by talking to student leaders, we hope we will encourage long-term, and even life-long involvement in the community,” Mr Tamblyn said.
“Students from four local schools will participate in the Youth in Philanthropy Project this year, where they’ll be able to learn more about the concept and the power giving can have in a very practical way,” said.
“Each school group will be asked to come up with an idea for a philanthropic project of their choice before starting work on an action plan which they will take back to their school.
“We then encourage these groups to apply for one of the Buderim Foundation’s Starter Youth Grants of up to $150 to support the successful implementation of their project.
“It’s really a very practical, and exciting introduction to philanthropy and is a real thrill for students to see their ideas in action.”
Mathew Flinders Anglican College Head of Senior School Gary Davis said the Youth in Philanthropy Project is also a great way to connect student leaders from schools in the 4556 post code with leaders from community groups and charitable organisations.
“The Project was a huge success last year, with students from four local schools conceiving, planning and successfully completing a diverse range of projects which all gave back to the local and wider community,” Mr Davis said.
“Some visited local aged care facilities to install floral displays made from native trees in their school grounds or helped assemble care kits for Team Adem, while others delivered sportswear to a remote Far North Queensland Indigenous community or travelled to Cambodia to work with a sister school.’
“We can’t wait to see what students from Mathew Flinders Anglican College, Sunshine Coast Grammar School, Immanuel Lutheran College, Montessori and Chancellor State College come up with this year.”
Mr Tamblyn said the students have four months from the date of the workshop to deliver on their project, before sharing details of its implementation and impact at the Buderim Foundation’s Community Grants Celebration later in the year.
The 2019 Youth in Philanthropy Project program includes talks on the value of volunteering, and philanthropy in action, as well as workshops on how to start an action plan and the grant application process.
The Chair of the Buderim Foundation, Dr Russell Stitz will also be in attendance to outline the goals and structure of the Buderim Foundation, which is recognised as one of the top four regional Philanthropic Community Foundations in Australia.
Mr Stitz will emphasize that Foundation’s commitment to supporting the community into the future, building its corpus or capital base so that money earned from the investments will provide ever-increasing grants to community groups.
“As part of that, we have established a Youth Sub-fund, which is focused on providing grants specifically for programs benefiting our young people,” Mr Stitz said.
“We go even further through programs like the Youth in Philanthropy Project, where we also foster a giving philosophy that will grow with these young people into the future.”
For more information on the Buderim Foundation, please visit the website – www.buderimfoundation.org.au.
