Azalia growing skills to support her buddy

The Tasmanian Community Fund is supporting Edmund Rice Community Services Tasmania (ERCSTAS) to help more young people participate in the Eddie Rice Camp’s volunteer mentor program.

Young people are invited to join ERCSTAS where they volunteer as big buddies for kids coming on the Eddie Rice Camp’s, making connections with the children, and making their time on the camps even more enjoyable.

We have provided $36,000 in funding to ERCSTAS for two years, which is helping 30 young people receive training and have associated costs of attending the camps taken care of.

One young person that has already been helped by the TCF is Azalia who recently attended a camp near Kingston.

Azalia’s first camp showed her how important the work done by ERCSTAS is and how much it means for the children attending the camps.

“Once I got to my first camp, I came to realise that it was so much better than what I’d expected.”

“I met so many amazing people that week and when I met my buddy, she told me it was going to be her last camp. I was determined to make it a good one even though I didn’t have much of an idea of what I was doing!”

The connection Azalia made with her buddy filled her with pride and motivates her to continue working with Eddie Rice Camps. She said being able to make a real connection and improve the life of someone is the highlight of the camps.

“It was a pretty tough week and there was lots of ups and downs and by the end of it I was pretty spent. But on the last day we all wrote letters to our buddies and they wrote letters to us, and that letter is what keeps me motivated and continues to inspire me because that’s what made me realise what an impact these programs have.”

“It’s such a gratifying experience and getting to see the growth over returning kids is honestly such an amazing thing to see. Making these bonds are so important for these kids and being able to be someone who has made a difference in their lives is something that I know everyone enjoys.”