Over the school holidays, SHINE for Kids teams across the country held special RISE Together Days for children in the program.

The days were an opportunity for kids to meet others going through the same thing they are, try new experiences in a supported environment, and make new friends.

Children with a parent in custody often feel isolated so days like this are important.

The circus came to town and brought many smiles, squeals and laughter to the 35 children, parents and mentors who attended Western Sydney’s RISE Together Day!

Due to COVID, this was the first Western Sydney event in years so there were lots of new faces as families arrived at Blacktown Workers Club excited to meet each other and watch the very funny Circus Quirkus show.

After the show, the group headed to a private function area provided by Blacktown Workers Club for a special RISE party.

Children had fun playing games like pass the parcel, enjoying (a lot!) the lolly table, and striking a pose in the photo booth!

It was beautiful when children saw their mentors at the party and ran up to say hi! The look on the children’s faces shows the strong bonds that have been forged.

One of the activities was creating an artwork collaboratively, ‘Together We RISE’, which was filled with lovely drawings and positive messages including:

“Never give up, keep trying.”

“SHINE for Kids has helped me overcome so many different things.”

“I like SHINE because it’s so much fun and they are loving and caring.”

“I like SHINE for Kids because they have fun activities and you can play games.”

One very cute addition was a drawing by a little boy of him playing basketball with his mentor Kavish (an activity they do together) with the words ‘Kavish rocks!’.

We also invited families to share their photo booth photos and write what they think of when they look at the picture they just took together.

Thoughts included: “Generous, loving and caring”, “Happy, fun, caring” and “Loving and kind”.

All this fun made everyone extra hungry so the amazing catering generously provided by the Blacktown Workers Club was very appreciated!

It was clear from the big smiles everywhere that the children had a fantastic time.

One little girl couldn’t contain her joy at the end of the outing, spontaneously running up to her mentor for a hug and saying “I love you!”.

Hearts were melted.

Thank you to the Rotary Club Of Ryde who very kindly provided the circus tickets.

Thank you to Blacktown Workers Club for providing a venue and catering. Club staff went above and beyond to make sure everyone was treated to a lovely day.

RISE in Western Sydney is funded by FICAP,  The Count Foundation, Perpetual Limited, Waratah Education Foundation and C3 Church Carlingford. 

Donate today to support RISE kids to achieve their best!

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