SERVICE MESSAGE - IYC Young People, Families, Staff, Volunteers, Board, Student Placements and Community would like to give a big warm thank you to all who support IYC, not close the centre doors. It's with a heavy heart that IYC informs you that IYC closed its centre doors on March 1st 2024 at the location in Bundoora due to not being refunded by the government, IYC acknowledges and is grateful for the Federal Government grant to grow IYC with the centre in 2022. IYC campaigned to all tiers of government, did a fundraiser with events, went to media, had a petition, tried auspices and unfortunately could not raise enough funds to keep the centre operational. IYC will not close as a charity/service organisation and reflect to provide NDIS services, consulting work, information and referral, and program work that will be done on a smaller scale until IYC grows again and can do more and run a centre again. As the motto goes at IYC
"Believe and Create"
BUILDINGUP PROGRAM
ELGIBILITY
To be eligible for this program, a young person must be a member of the IYC youth reference group.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What is the BuildingUp program?
The BuildingUp program is a mentoring style program that partners youth reference group members with a member of the Board of Management (BOM).
We recognised an opportunity with these two decision making groups to be partnered as individuals or small groups for two goals:
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YRG members can receive mentoring and professional network exposure from BOM members on employment, education, and wider community participation matters.
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BOM members can gain candid and primary insight on what it is like to be a young person in the given current time and social environment. YRG can offer an informed idea on what is the best interests for many of the young people that access IYC.
Why the BuildingUp program exists?
IYC became aware of a number of issues facing young people in terms of their participation in civics and in employment. The program is influenced by the research findings of the Foundation of Young Australians or FYA which claimed what is the 'enterprise skillset' is trending in demand from the workforce. These skills are:
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Presentation skills
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Creative thinking
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Critical thinking
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Digital Literacy
We respond that with many of our YRG members respond well to informal learning and experiential learning, we calculated that these skills can be learned with hands on experience.
Another issue of concern that we have with the YRG and BOM is the vastly different platforms they hold. We consider this to be a risk of alienation for both groups to when it comes to decision making for the organisation. The BuildingUp Program aims to familiarise both groups with each other on a personable level which can promote adult/youth collaboration and equitable decision making.
How does the program work?
The program works as a school semester long program in three stages:
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The Workshop Stage:
This stage is two classes full of games and activities designed to teach what the enterprise skills are to the YRG members. We also introduce a number of other skills like goal making, emotional intelligence, and active reflection. They will be provided with a free journal to document their progress.
The classes will offer free catering for lunch and breaks. We also aim to have a special guest speaker to offer their time during the classes.
BOM members also receive training on ethical youth practice, a quick guide on the wider social context of the cohort of young people in the YRG, and are checked to have valid working with children checks.
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The Meetup Stage:
Mentors and Mentees are required to meet up at least once a month for five months to discuss goals with mentees themselves and goals in decision making for mentors. They are instructed to keep in touch via email and possibly over the organizational app Slack outside of meetings.
Both groups are encouraged to build personalized partnerships that focus on respecting and utilizing each others knowledge and abilities. They would keep record of their goals in notebooks and online surveys via Survey Monkey offered to them by with IYC.
The data from notebooks and surveys are processed into a report on engagement for IYC.
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The Graduation Stage:
A graduation ceremony with a party for all participants. All YRG members will be handed certificates for their participation.
The top three achieving mentees are selected based on the most goals obtained by them. They will be rewarded with gift card prizes for their merit during the graduation ceremony.