It was a night of firsts for Tomorrow Today when almost 120 people gathered at Benalla P-12 Avon St Campus to commemorate the year with Benalla’s independent community foundation on Thursday 31 October.
Tomorrow Today’s Community Celebration is an opportunity for the Foundation’s supporters to hear first-hand from program participants as they share how Tomorrow Today has impacted their lives or work. Education Benalla Program Manager, Sally Matheson, spoke with Sam Gawne and her young son, Tayte, about their involvement with PEEP. “I found out about PEEP when Tayte was just over three months old. When I first heard about it, I was like, no, it’s not for us. I think just being new to town and stuff, it was overwhelming for me. I didn’t know other mums. But when we did our first mini PEEP session, I absolutely fell in love with it! Now it’s our weekly outing and I try my hardest not to miss a week.”
At 19, first-time volunteer, Hayley Pearce is one of Tomorrow Today’s youngest volunteers. She is a Reading Buddy in Taylah Chettleburgh’s Year 1/2 classroom at Benalla P-12 College. Hayley shared what inspired her to volunteer, “When I was younger, I used to love reading. I thought I might give volunteering a try so then other kids might love reading as much as I do.” Taylah had nothing but praise for the contribution Hayley has made to her classroom, “Hayley offers that one-on-one support and time with the students, which is very precious. And as their confidence grows, their literacy abilities have grown. It’s really nice to see the bond and the connection that the students make with Hayley.”
For the first time members of the Full Impact Squad, a youth-led group supported by Tomorrow Today played a leading role in the event not only serving light refreshments but stealing the show as emcees and interviewees. Squad member, Deakin spoke about how the Squad has influenced his life; “I think being able to say that I’m a part of a group that has impacted this community so much is phenomenal, and the fact that we’re all under the age of 19, that’s amazing. A year and half ago, I never would have thought something like this could have been possible.”
Tomorrow Today’s Executive Officer, Jodie Fleming spoke at her first Community Celebration as Executive Officer. “Last year when I attended the annual celebration as a community member, I was truly blown away by the event and seeing first-hand how the community in Benalla has embraced its community foundation and how much it is involved and how generous everyone is as they work together to create a stronger, more resilient and prosperous rural community.”
“In my first year as Executive Officer I’ve been privileged to oversee the introduction of three new programs: ConnectParent, the Benalla Imagination Library and a new collaboration with Ganbina to support the learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Benalla.”
In another first, attendees heard from guest speaker, Ian Bird, CEO of Community Foundations Australia. He praised the work that community foundations do, noting that, “Great community foundations have purpose just as Tomorrow Today does here in the Benalla community.”
Board Chair, Louise Pearce summed up what the community celebration means to Tomorrow Today; “This annual event is a chance for us to celebrate what we’ve achieved by working together and to thank those who have contributed to those achievements. We have been very generously supported by a great many donors, partners, funders and others who share our vision for creating a bright future for our great rural community. In particular, our organisation would not be able to run without the outstanding support of a wonderful group of volunteers. It really does take a village to raise and support our community’s children. And you all do this with enthusiasm and passion. Thank you.”
