Last week our Clubhouse was home to a group of Students from The Clontarf Foundation for a few nights. The boys from the Dubbo South Clontarf Academy, along with their leaders Kade, Joe and Brad set up camp in the hall and began their Sydney tour.
Our President, Chris Stewart was so pleased to be able to offer our Club as accomodation for the group, and whilst they were here, organised a half day of SLS and Surf Activities followed by Surf Lessons with Manly Surf School. The anticipation when the boys got off the buses on Tuesday afternoon was immense, some of these kids have never seen the ocean before. The days of excursions ahead were sure to be a success with North Steyne as their home base.
On Thursday, Chris along with Youth Director Jodie Frazer, Club Captain Jack Watt and IRB Captain Dave Guthrie, set up SLS training activities, both dry and wet, for the boys to learn a thing or two about Lifesaving. Our young Cadet’s came along too to assist with water safety – thank you to Capucine, Oli, Josh and Charlie. Thankfully Mother Nature was kind on the day and the water temperature not too bad!
It was a great opportunity for our Club members to learn more about the important work the Clontarf Foundation does to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.
Timely, this leads into NAIDOC Week (3 – 10 July), and this yearβs National NAIDOC Week theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and this group certainly did this in Sydney last week!
It was a pleasure to not only meet this awesome group of young men but to join in activities and learn from each other.