Power to the youth
The Canberra Police Community Youth Group has been doing the most for local families since 1957. Here’s the story of how Local Matters paid back a bit of that community spirit, and how the community of Woden rallied around to show their support.
The Canberra Police Community Youth Group (PCYC) is a hub of heart. Here the community spirit lives strong with members aligned on a single mission; to build positive futures for at-risk young people.
They offer the lot, from high-energy, movement-making sports like rock climbing and boxing to social-skills training. This is a place that puts at-risk youths at the center of their focus, giving them an outlet, a learning opportunity, a safe space to be themselves.
We had a chat with Cheryl, the CEO at the Canberra PCYC who told us of the group’s challenges.
“We work on a small budget of government funding. This funding is split over 15 programs for the community, plus covers two meals per day to over 100 young people”.
Looking for other means of support, Cheryl and her team turned to Local Matters.
“We often have lunch at the Woden restaurant. It’s quite close to our Erindale office. We saw the jars in the restaurant and spoke to the manager about how to get involved”.
With a feature Local Matters jar for the month, the Canberra PCYC was front and center at Woden not just collecting tokens but getting some worthy attention.
“The funding we received provided meals for the young people and went to vouchers that we use to reward those in our programs for graduating. It’s heartening for these young people as they see that businesses care about their future”.