THE Port Adelaide Football Club and Foodbank have teamed up to help empower young people to stay connected to their schooling and give back to the community at the same time.
On Wednesday, students from Findon High School, in Adelaide’s western suburbs, volunteered at Foodbank’s Edwardstown headquarters, helping sort food hampers in the organisation’s warehouse.
Power players Jack Watts and Matthew Broadbent were there to lend a hand and to discuss with the students some of the core values and ideas they live by including resilience and leadership.
Last year alone, Foodbank South Australia provided enough food for more than 3,400,000 meals by redistributing surplus food to those most in need.
The organisation has had a longstanding partnership with the Port Adelaide Football Club.
The Findon High School students are part of Port Adelaide’s Empowering Youth program, which is aimed at supporting students who are disengaged with their learning to re-engage with their schooling and complete their education requirements.
The program sees students with flexible learning option enrolments get SACE credits by learning about wellbeing, health and lifestyle and in 2019, the program became a Stage 1 Integrated Learning subject.
As part of the new format students are required to complete three assessment tasks which contribute to their SACE credits, including engaging in volunteering activities through directly working a community group or charity.
In doing so, students are provided the opportunity to experience the value of volunteering and giving back to those in need.
The Findon High School students chose Foodbank as the charity they wanted to volunteer for after recognising hunger is a major concern in Australia and that many students go to school without breakfast or a packed lunch.
This has a significant impact on the child’s wellbeing.
“Students from Findon High School identified their volunteering would help many families in need,” said Port Adelaide Youth Programs Manager Jake Battifuoco.
“It is important for students to experience the value of volunteering and contributing to a positive community.
“It’s about building a sense of purpose where they not only help those in need, but step outside their comfort zone and develop their social and relationship skills.”
Students will also reflect on their experience to identify what they learnt and how they felt during their time while also reflecting on the positive impact it has on others.
Empowering Youth participants from other schools will volunteer at other organisations throughout 2019.
