Blog

Following the success of our previous gathering, we’re excited to announce Christmas in July—a special event designed to bring the Doxa community together once again. Building on the vibrant atmosphere of our last event, this evening will celebrate Doxa’s core values of family, connection, inclusion, and tradition.

With opportunities to mingle, reconnect, and welcome both long-standing members and new generations, the event will continue to strengthen the bonds within our community. It also serves as a meaningful way to honour Doxa’s history while showcasing the ongoing partnership between DCC and DYF.

Expect a lively and social night filled with entertainment, connection, and festive spirit.

Tickets are now live—secure yours and be part of this special celebration!

http://bit.ly/DYFXmasJuly

Enhancing Safety and Learning at Malmsbury Camp

We’re excited to share the installation of a new on-site weather station at Malmsbury Camp, made possible through the generous support of funds raised at our 2025 Christmas in July fundraiser. This important upgrade allows camp staff to access real-time, location-specific weather data, enabling more informed decisions about when to modify or cease activities. Previously, weather information was sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology site 40km away in Redesdale, which often did not reflect the unique conditions experienced at the camp.

The new weather station adds an extra layer of safety and supports a more consistent application of our severe weather thresholds. In addition, it opens up valuable learning opportunities—live weather data can now be shared with students, helping them engage with and better understand weather patterns in a hands-on way.

If you wish to follow the live weather at our Malmsbury Camp, or look ahead for your next visit, you can create your own account at weatherlink.com or view basic information on the Weatherlink Map – https://www.weatherlink.com/map

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this initiative possible.

We kicked off the year with an amazing City Summer Holiday Camp, bringing together 40 enthusiastic participants from schools across Victoria. Our group stayed at the fantastic CYC City accommodation, a perfect venue for all the important parts of camp – food, socialising and having fun.

During the camp, our participants had the chance to experience the excitement of Big Bash cricket firsthand at the MCG with the Melbourne Stars comfortably defeating the Adeliade Strikers and were inspired by world-class tennis at the Australian Open, plus all the amazing child friendly activations. They also had a blast swimming at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, racing, splashing, and building their water confidence. Mini golf at Melbourne Golf Parks, Albert Park, provided a fun and friendly competition, with plenty of impressive shots along the way. 

Our Malmsbury Summer Holiday Camp was packed with exciting activities and participants took part in a wide range of experiences initially designed to bring everyone together including making a team flag, team initiatives, supporting everyone to experience the Giant Swing and working together to build the biggest Crate Stack. 

Outdoor adventures continued with kayaking at Golden Point, a giant Slip’n’Slide at camp, and time spent exploring the surrounding bush and river. Students also enjoyed a half-day visit to the swimming pool at Newstead and a memorable excursion to Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary.

The program concluded with a vibrant carnival night to celebrate another hugely successful Malmsbury Holiday Camp where students came together for games, laughter, and karaoke.

As always, a big thanks to the efforts of the school staff who ensured campers could attend and the Doxa staff who make it happen each and every holiday!

Schools planning a trip to Doxa Youth Foundation’s Malmsbury Camp can now view the camp facilities and activities via a 360 photographic tour featured on our website.

The tour highlights the natural bush setting which is fundamental to the Malmsbury Camp experience and its range of outdoor adventure activities. The Tour provides a useful tool for those planning for camp to do a ‘walk through’, so they can familiarise themselves with the camp layout and facilities.

To view the Virtual Tour explore the Malmsbury Camp page on our website.

When catching the train from Geelong to Melbourne the other day it was great to be reminded of the support our major sponsor V/Line has provided us with for the past 49 years!

V/Line has been with Doxa Youth Foundation from the early days providing free travel for children to ensure that they don’t miss out on attending school and holiday camp experiences at our bush camp in Malmsbury and at our Melbourne City Camp. V/Line has also been a Cadetship Sponsor organisation providing mentored industry placements for talented university students requiring additional financial and professional development support to reach their full potential.

We celebrate V/Line’s commitment to helping to create opportunities for children and young people facing socio economic challenges and we look forward to this partnership continuing for many years to come. To find out more about V/Line Group Travel Bookings.

Our website has recently had a refresh to reflect the range of programs we provide creating opportunities for children and young people.

Doxa Youth Foundation is one of the few Victorian organisations that provide programs spanning key developmental and life cycle stages of a young person. We provide school and holiday camp programs for primary and secondary school aged children in our bush camp location at Malmsbury and at Melbourne City Camp, as well as a bush camping experience for secondary school aged young people as part of our Journey Camp Program. And university students needing some additional support can apply to the Doxa Youth Foundation Cadetship Program which provides financial support and mentored industry placements with sponsor organisations so these young people can reach their full potential.

Thank you to our web developer Blick Creative for working with us to put the site together and photographers Michelle Jarni for capturing some of our campers having fun and Nikole Ramsay for her photographs of some of our Cadets. Visit the website.

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The Doxa Youth Foundation hosted a weekend at the Malmsbury Camp for our long-term members.

Maureen Earls, Gina and Joe Marchio and Marisa Cerritelli, DYF stalwarts, organised the programme.  Our founding members, their grandchildren and Father Joe all attended.

There was an abundance of delicious food and enjoyable activities.  It was a wonderful opportunity for our founding members to revisit their memories of working with Father Joe to set up and run the Malmsbury Camp in the early days and for their children to reminisce about staying at the camp while their parents were volunteering.  The grandchildren just had fun![/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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Kids shouldn’t miss out on going on camp

Climbing Wall

Our Holiday Camps are all about our campers having fun and learning while creating unforgettable memories.  Camps take place during the school holidays and provide city experiences in Melbourne or a bushland experience at our camp in Malmsbury for 10-12 year olds.

Our programs are always changing and give children opportunities to experience a wide range of activities, whether visiting the sites of Melbourne and mastering catching a tram to adventure activities like the giant swing and climbing wall in the bushland setting of Malmsbury camp.

Children are referred to Doxa Youth Foundation by schools and welfare organisations.  Our holiday camps are free of charge for the children who attend.  A big thank you to our supporters whose donations fund the Doxa Youth Foundation holiday camp program.   Donate to fund a child’s camp experience. All donations are tax deductable (50%). DONATE HERE.