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Happy National Student Volunteer Week! One of the best parts of our job is supporting students to have experiences that will enrich their learning and future careers!

This National Student Volunteer Week, we celebrate all of our fantastic students and the contribution they make every day. Our team members who work closely with students benefit significantly from their diverse experiences and skills.

Held on 7-13 August 2023, this week acknowledges and celebrates student volunteers and promotes volunteering to students and young people across Australia. The theme for 2023 is Give. Grow. Belong, which taps into a generation who are more socially conscious than ever before.

To every student we have had at SHINE for Kids, thank you!

We understand it’s a lot to take in, and working in the correctional space can be daunting, so we are so impressed with your commitment and passion for helping others.

Find out more at www.nationalstudentvolunteerweek.org.au.

Here, our team members and their students reflect on the time they have had together:

Townsville

Our Townsville team, Jess and Glen, have enjoyed working with student volunteers Anu and Phoebe.

Anu, student volunteer: I am a mother myself and understand how important it is for a child to be connected with their parents. It is very rewarding to help support their relationship and help the children achieve their hopes and goals in life.

Phoebe, student volunteer: My time volunteering for SHINE for Kids has been a very inspiring and rewarding experience, supporting the children and their families. As a social work student, it’s also been a very valuable learning experience, and I enjoy every moment of it!

Jess, SHINE for Kids: It is great having support from Anu and Phoebe. Not only do they support me with delivering our programs, but they also give good guidance to the families we support with the knowledge they have.

Silverwater

Our Silverwater team member Linda has enjoyed working with student volunteer Sunni.

Sunni, student volunteer: My experience at SHINE for Kids has been an eye-opening and insightful journey. It has given me a deeper understanding of the complexities and challenges faced by children and families who are affected by the criminal justice system.

Throughout my time, I had the privilege to learn from Linda and Karen, the two most dedicated and compassionate Child and Family coordinators (at Silverwater and Windsor Correctional Centres) and mentors.

They taught me how to create a safe and nurturing environment for those vulnerable children and foster children’s self-esteem and resilience. Thank you for allowing me to be part of the amazing SHINE team and I would like to give a big shout-out to all SHINE staff out there for their incredible work, compassion and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of the vulnerable children.

Linda, SHINE for Kids: Sunni is highly motivated, energetic and enthusiastic. She is passionate about her university practical work and is very professional and cooperative in all her dealings with children, families, inmates and stakeholders. She is committed to helping children. Sunni has positively affected children attending visits at Silverwater and has demonstrated her high level of ability in everything she has done!

Clarence

Our Clarence team member Aubrey has enjoyed working with student volunteer Sue.

Sue, student volunteer: Going inside the correctional centre [to help facilitate a program] today was great. It was a good day and what I needed from this experience. It was very informative and an opportunity to get the in-person contact I need [to prepare for a career] in social work.

Before this, I wasn’t aware that SHINE for Kids works not only with children but also with prisoners, but now I understand that it’s also about the parent connecting with their children. This other side of the equation is really interesting. It was my first time in a correctional centre and one-on-one [with inmates]; listening to their stories, I can see it’s very complicated.

Aubrey, SHINE for Kids: Sue has a lot of knowledge about counselling and supporting inmates, and I wanted to tap into it and utilize her expertise. When we delivered a class together, it was really exciting, and she had a lot of value to add. We’ve also been meeting up once a week to work on resources together, so supporting her as a student and gaining her insights has been great.

If you’d like to learn more about volunteering with us, please email volunteer@shineforkids.org.au.