Australian Anthill Magazine
Cadetship
Doxa is calling on companies across the state to support and change the lives of high-achieving young Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds by becoming a Cadetship Program partner.
Young disadvantaged people from refugee backgrounds are getting their first taste of the Australian bush through a three-day trekking expedition in the Goldfields and Kooyoora State Park in central Victoria, near Bendigo.
The Journey program, run by Doxa – a Victorian not-for-profit operating out of Malmsbury – aims to build teamwork skills and personal skills such as confidence, a sense of belonging and connectedness which they take with them back into the community.
Mohammed, a young man attending Doxa’s Journey Program said it “gave us a good opportunity and support to learn new things about the animals, the hills, the mountains. Because we are refugees and come from countries like Africa we don’t know about things like that.”
Doxa run programs for disadvantaged young people from across rural, regional and metropolitan Victoria.
Stephen Silk, Doxa Chief Executive Officer, Doxa says: “It is wonderful to be able to show newly arrived young people, particularly those with such traumatic backgrounds, the local environment. It’s so special to witness them sharing stories round the campfire at Melville Caves or spotting their first kangaroo out in Kooyoora.”
The young people attending the Journey Program will come from newly arrived or refugee backgrounds. Participants will have experienced trauma, displacement, financial hardship and missed out on crucial years of education. English will be an additional language for them. They will have never visited rural central Victoria.
The aim of the Journey Program is to give these young people some fun, encourage social cohesion, teach them about the local environment and Indigenous culture. It’s also designed to encourage social cohesion, confidence and connectedness between different cultures.
Belinda Rowse
03 9046 8200
browse@doxa.org.au
[eventbutton text=’Media Statement’ link=’https://dev.doxa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Journey-Camp-Media-Release-2016_01.pdf’]
Holiday Camp is an exciting opportunity for disadvantaged young Victorians to experience fun and learning activities in the rural environment. The residential camp is run from Doxa’s award-winning outdoor education facility at Malmsbury.
Doxa Youth Foundation celebrates 45 years this year and this summer over 200 young people from rural, regional and metropolitan Victoria will be attending a Doxa Holiday Camp.
The 5-day program incorporates learning, teambuilding and unique activities such as horsemanship, high ropes, climbing wall, bushwalking, arts & crafts, woodwork, outdoor cinema and much more.
Outcomes of Doxa’s Holiday Camp include: enjoyment of enriching experiences; building self-esteem and confidence; improved positive connections to peers and adults; fun, laughter and joy for vulnerable children.
Doxa’s Malmsbury camp won the prestigious Minister’s Award in the Government’s Community Sport & Recreation Awards in 2015 and continues to go from strength to strength, supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
For any media enquiries, please contact Belinda Rowse (details below). A downloadable .pdf can also be obtained by clicking the button below.
Belinda Rowse
03 9046 8200
browse@doxa.org.au
[eventbutton text=’Media Statement’ link=’https://dev.doxa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Doxa-Media-Statement-Holiday-Camps.pdf’]
Pharmacy News
Cadetship
Doxa is calling on companies across the state to support and change the lives of high-achieving young Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds by becoming a Cadetship Program partner.
Pro Bono
Cadetship
Doxa is calling on companies across the state to support and change the lives of high-achieving young Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds by becoming a Cadetship Program partner.
Year 12 UPP students participating in the Tripod Enterprise Skills session with Betsy Tolmer
The University Pathways Program session on ‘Enterprise Skills’ allowed me to gain many valuable new skills and information, here are just a few!
I was able to refine my teamwork skills through an engaging small group tasks and doing ‘The Big Pitch’ where I was able to try my hand at contributing to the design of a new company. Working with the friends at I had met on UPP over the past few years made this a very entertaining time, as we all enjoyed working with each other’s ideas and practicing teamwork. 🙂
Cookie face – a fun game where company representatives worked to get a cookie from their foreheads into their mouths
Refining my skills in giving an ‘elevator pitch’ was another key learning from the session. I managed to create a succinct 30 second introduction that allows you to let a new contact find out the key information about you. The practical advice they gave on how to approach this task made it fun and engaging, whilst also being incredibly useful.
Another key take away was the value of enterprise skills, such as digital literacy and presentation skills. Knowing how these compliment formal education reaffirmed the importance of having a balanced education, and has inspired me to seize opportunities to refine them.
Betsy presenting on the importance of developing enterprising skills for jobs of the future
In addition, the workshop informed us about the future of work, and changes to industry setups. This prepared us for what our career paths might look like, and warded off any fears of having a dynamic career.
I came away from the Enterprise Skills session inspired and determined to get the most out of opportunities, be they in school, workplaces or the community and to get the best for others and ourselves. This is because the facilitator encouraged us to take pride in what we do, whilst still making valuable contributions.
Ty and Kobe (right) learning about their communication types
The program runs for two years and seeks to connect young people to schooling and assist them with the knowledge and skills to tackle the issues relevant to early adolescence.
Kobe, a Year 7 student, spoke at the inaugural Awards night and it’s truly inspiring to see the impact the workshops are having on this young man’s journey towards finishing school and reaching his dreams.
“I may be a boy in the western suburbs, but that can’t stop me. I may be 13, but that can’t stop me. I may be small, but that can’t stop me.
Because I have the right mind set. Because I believe in myself. Because I can do anything. Because I am a dreamer.
I will, I know I will.
Before this camp, I never ever thought like that, like this. Before Sange Carters talk. I never thought like that.
Her class taught me so much. It inspired me… so much. I took a lot from that class. But the main thing I took from that class was… I want to be like that.
Straight after that session, I thought to myself. How can I, what if, that would. All this stuff that I had never thought of, just made sense like clicking your fingers. It was like my mind had just discovered another world. I thought about my dream job, as an architect in whole different level. I wanted to find out more. So I organised to speak with an architect, and it was one of the best things I have ever done.”
Kobe, Year 7 participant in Future Focus.
Holiday Campers making origami lotus flowers
Throughout January we offered five-day programs for primary schoolaged children who are experiencing significant disadvantage in their home lives. Children staying at Malmsbury Camp got to experience the Australian bush and its many associated delights such as horse riding. Young people staying at City Camp had a more urban experience that saw them getting on trams for the first time, visiting the MCG and even learning circus skills and origami on St. Kilda beach.
Sending children to Holiday Camp was the focus for our 2016 Christmas fundraising appeal. Thank you to everyone who supported us.
UPP Students celebrate the final stage of their journey through the program
Throughout the multi-year program, students visit university campuses and faculties as well as corporate workplaces where they engage employees in conversations about their careers and what study was required to get there. All of this learning is supported by extensive developmental workshop activities that assist to build personal skills and aspiration. Workshop topics progress each year so that they are age-appropriate and complement school-based learning. We offer the University Pathways Program to disadvantaged schools and students free-of-charge and are able to do so with the support of our wonderful trust and foundation partners such as the Newsboys Foundation and trusts managed by Perpetual.
Our first-ever group of students to complete the full program have just completed their final residential at City Camp. This group of students have been really grateful for all the opportunities and we are proud to share Liang’s feedback below.
Liang, Year 12 participant in the University Pathways Program
Photo (State Library) Michael Tran: 2nd Year Cadet
I have always been fascinated by Alice in Wonderland, who fell down the rabbit-hole and found herself in a cycle of adventures that tested her courage, intellect and perseverance. Strangely, I resonate with Alice’s whimsical adventures, through my experiences as a first year Cadet.
Unlike Alice, who fell down the rabbit-hole, my first day as a Cadet involved rocketing up the other direction in an elevator…37 floors up to be exact. I felt anxious and daunted. A first-year law student, with no knowledge about the legal industry, was about to step foot into a global top-tier law-firm. Nonetheless, the doors opened and I was greeted by the sign Allens, a place I would call my Wonderland for the next five years.
Photo (Allens Office/Melbourne Skyline): “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.”
Prior to my Cadetship journey, my self-confidence had always been clouded by my experiences in high-school, where I had always felt isolated, judged and misunderstood. My past had stripped me of my true personality and my self-belief. I always feared what others thought of me. I was afraid of not ‘fitting in.’
Yet, since stepping out of that elevator, I have been showered with endless support and guidance from my two mentors; Pete and Chris who have enlightened me about the importance of self-confidence in the ruthless legal industry. I was reassured that being a young and curious Cadet at such a large law-firm, was an advantage, as I could afford to make mistakes and to ask questions and to learn from them.
I was inspired when I became a member of the Cadet cohort, all of whom have persevered through their own hardships, but managed to find the strength to fight through.
And it was then I realised, that my past does not define me.
Photo 3 (Fellow Cadets): Cadets (L-R): Shelley Fenech, Michael Tran, Grace Davidson.
I began to gain a level of confidence that was previously, non-existent. I had the courage to network with other lawyers at Allens, casually and professionally. I was confident enough to tackle new tasks without any fear of failing. I had the self-belief to project the best version of myself to the world. I was no longer afraid, of being ‘me.’
This Cadetship and my time at Allens has allowed me to grow so much as a person, professionally and personally, in ways I never thought were possible. As each day passes, I continue to develop the passion, qualities and skills required for the legal industry and to live a more confident life, knowing that everyone involved in the Cadetship program, is cheering me on.
I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.
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