Volunteer

My name is Victoria and like many others, I have a PCYC story. As I entered my final year of university, I was ready to extend my knowledge of marketing beyond the lecture hall or tutorial room. I applied for an internship and was lucky enough to be offered a place within the Marketing, Media, Communication & Fundraising Team. I was excited about the opportunity and ready to start working!

The collaborative nature of the team allowed me to work with a range of managers, assisting with social media, fundraising, blogs and even getting involved in our events. I was thrown in the deep end, introduced to new platforms and developing my knowledge in a way I couldn’t just sitting in my university classes. I always felt supported and knew there was a team member with words of wisdom to help solve any issue I came across. I got to show my creative side by coming up with content ideas and was excited to work at our 70^th anniversary Gala Ball, where we saw months of hard work come into action.

After several months, my time as a PCYC Queensland intern came to an end, but this was by no means the end of my journey. After developing strong bonds with my team, I stayed on as a volunteer, helping with events such as the Ekka. In October, I returned to the MMCF team in a paid position. I was excited to re-join the team and begin working on our new website. As I begin 2019, I reflect on the many opportunities PCYC Queensland has given me and am looking forward to continuing my work this year.

My name is Chris Martin & I’ve been a mentor with the PCYC Braking the Cycle driving programme in Toowoomba for more than six years. During that period, I have accumulated around 2,800 hours of student training, and have been involved in many of the 400 plus successful licences achieved, by students here, learning in the programme.

“Why do I do it, I hear you ask?” There are quite a few facets to answer this question. For a start, many of our students come from different cultural backgrounds, such as Sudan, Nepal, Yazidi – from Iraq & Iran (to name but a few), as well, of course, as our local Aussie teenagers.

Although I have more than 60 years of driving experience, to impart to them, I also learn a lot from these students about their own cultures & it gives me an opportunity to impart more of our own. They also teach me a lot about the world my own grandchildren are growing up in and help me understand the very different, and sometimes complicated issues they face in these modern times. So it’s not just a one way thing there is multi varied learning on both sides.

Some of the students come from quite challenging backgrounds & it a pleasure to see their level of positivity change as they succeed, in various steps along the 100 hour road to gaining their P licence.

The programme also has very valuable benefits for the community at large, as some of the students are on un-employment benefits, and most of them, once they gain their licences are able to venture into employment or study pathways, which has very positive outcome for both themselves and the community. For instance, quite a few of the Yazidi female students want to go into nursing, a much needed vocation, in an aging population.

I only volunteer for a couple of sessions each day of the week, but find it tremendously enjoyable and full of positive outcomes. Would I do it again, certainly! Would I recommended the programme to other potential mentors, definitely – so get involved.

Hi, I’m Lexi, and I’ve been volunteering for the PCYC gymnastics team since nearly the start of this year, and it’s been the best! I’ve been so lucky to have been included in training courses where I have been learning leadership skills and guided by some really talented and caring coaches. One of the best parts about working for the team, is how encouraging and supportive everyone is. I help two afternoons a week after school coaching young gymnasts. It’s such a lovely environment to be in, surrounded by happy and motivated people who are all enjoying what they do. I also really love having the chance to use the awesome equipment myself when classes have finished, and the coaches have a few spare minutes to have a laugh and chat amongst each other. If it’s something you’re interested in doing, I highly recommend joining the team. It’s awesome!