Our Youth volunteers are bringing the sunshine this winter at our Buddies Day events!  

In June and July, Youth leaders took primary school aged children whose families use services within the Society (including Homelessness & Housing services or Vinnies Support Centres (VSC)) on fun days out in Darling Harbour. Children are picked up from the housing site or VSC in the morning and transported by coach to the activity location, where they also receive morning tea and lunch, as well as time to play and socialise with other kids and the Youth leaders. 

In June, this involved a trip to the SEA LIFE Aquarium, where the kids particularly loved seeing the sharks and sea turtles! Our participating sites for this trip included Marian Centre, Elsie’s, Vincentian House, and Redfern VSC. 

For July, the team went back to Darling Harbour again with children from the Redfern VSC and Marian Centre, but this time visited the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo to see furry and feathered Australian critters. The biggest hits were the cassowary, koalas, and crocodiles! 

Our Buddies Day program brings so much value for everyone involved: the kids get a fun day out experiencing something they may not otherwise get the opportunity to do, their carers get a day of respite, and our Youth volunteers find the experience incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. This year we have mainly engaged with children coming through the Sydney Archdiocese Central Council , however we are looking forward to heading out to Greater Western Sydney later this year. If you think this program would be of interest in your local area, please reach out to metroyouth@vinnies.org.au, as we would love to bring the program to where it’s needed most.