Our stories

The children in our Rise program on the NSW Central Coast were super excited when their first group event, a Rise Together Day, took place in the second half of the year!

11 students and their families were invited to a day of tenpin bowling and fun to celebrate the hard work they’d all be doing at school and in their sessions, meet other children who have a parent in custody, and make new friends.

These days are also a way to treat the children to something fun that many of their families are not in the financial position to do often, if ever.

Always a wonderful event in the school year, the children’s Rise mentor said, “Lovely new friendships were made between children. I saw new connections building with each and every one of them.”

“I’m so proud of the challenges that we have overcome together this year so far, and it was a great way to celebrate their achievements and look back on how far they have come.”

Lovely feedback from parents and carers shows just how much mentoring means to families, with their mentor receiving these comments:

“I truly believe that in the past six months, Tina* has been able to establish her ability to build friendship.”

“100% I feel Ben* has the confidence now to open up more.”

“Rachel* absolutely loves you!”

“Fred* speaks about each session with passion.”

“After sessions we have open discussions on what the session was about.” 

“Terry* calls Lauren his ‘friend along with safety networking people'”.”

Thank you to Bateau Bay Bowling for supporting this event.

*Names are changed to protect participants.