Lighting the way for Australian young people
What do you get when hundreds of dedicated Vicinity Centres’ people create fundraising and awareness activities for Beacon Foundation? – well, it’s called ‘Light the Way’ and it’s just wrapped up around the country.
Vicinity Centres is one of Beacon Foundation’s fantastic partners – with shopping destinations in many communities around Australia where Beacon Foundation also has school connections. As their corporate community partner, we work with Vicinity on a number of initiatives throughout the year, including student-focused career awareness and skill development activities. The entire Vicinity team has embraced the Light the Way campaign with gusto.
Melissa Schulz, Sustainability Manager, Vicinity Centres said,
“Light the Way is an opportunity for us to engage, encourage and motivate young people in our communities and we’re especially proud to have worked alongside Beacon Foundation again this year.”
Young people were directly involved in a number of events that aimed to raise awareness of, and funds for, Beacon Foundation.
In South Australia, a work readiness activity involving Vicinity teams and students from Bowden Brompton Community School led the young people to come up with their own Light the Way fundraising idea. Their plan was to offer customers, via a gold coin donation, to deliver shopping trolleys to their car. The students’ teachers turned the activity into a complete learning exercise, asking the young people to come up with artwork, and make a flyer to promote their plan. And it turned into reality, called ‘Donate 4 Delivery’. The students loved the chance to create and lead their own campaign – taking to Instagram to promote their work.
For Beacon Foundation, seeing more than 40 of Vicinity’s centres taking part in Light the Way has been fantastic.
“The enthusiasm with which Vicinity has approached this campaign is really quite inspiring,” Beacon Foundation Chief Executive Scott Harris said.
“We feel very fortunate to have a partner like Vicinity that helps us highlight the fact that many young Australians need support to transition from education to meaningful employment.”
Light the Way included a range of events from a special movie screening, to a Buskers Battle, kids’ fun zones and face painting, to the ever-popular ‘guess the number of lollies’ in a jar, as well as sausage sizzles and a meat tray raffle. Many of Vicinity’s retailers supported the campaign too by donating products and services to the campaign.
Beacon Foundation thanks everyone involved. Your efforts will allow us to offer our work readiness programs to more young Australians.
Photo: Luke Jamieson, Centre Manager, Vicinity Centres, Tasmania, was first cook at their sausage sizzle
