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This is Wesley Mission Aunties and Uncles Program.
I've got Macquarie Uni PACE students on placement here
and we incorporate them as part of our team.
We see them as potential employees one day.
The Wesley Mission Aunties and Uncles Program looks at
pairing up disadvantaged children with
Aunties and Uncles who've volunteered to take them in and
be a really supportive network for them.
♪
Working with a group of two other students from Macquarie,
together we were asked to compile an evaluation form
to look at the effectiveness of a pilot project
called The Boys and Men Project.
The idea of the project is that every Wesley Aunties and Uncles
office has case managers who have active waiting lists for
kids across the Central Coast and Sydney.
So we intend to scoop those boys up, aged from
seven to thirteen and do group mentoring work.
Where the PACE Program students come in is we've asked them to
evaluate the two pilot programs across the Central Coast
and Sydney so that we can get a true evaluation of how the
children and the primary carers involved found the project.
We've been looking at how we can tailor the Boys and Men
Program to cater towards the environmental, the demographic
and relational needs of children.
To get an evaluation done was really important so that we
could determine what needs to be changed in the program.
What is hopefully going to come out of this evaluation is that
we'll be able to apply for more funding to expand the project
and really just increase the network of kids
who can get this benefit.
♪
The thing I've been so impressed with the
Macquarie Uni students is their professionalism when they come.
There's obviously a lot of preparation in
working with them before they come to placement.
They hit the ground running. We orientate them to our own
culture, our own organisation but they're ready for work.
We've spent three years in a classroom. We barely get
outside into the real world so the PACE experience has
definitely shown me what it's like to live life beyond uni.
I would highly recommend the PACE program to
Macquarie students. I really enjoyed my experience
and after I had completed my thirty-two hours
I stayed in contact with the program manager.
I was informed of a job opening and I had an interview and
all went well and now I'm here.
I never considered something like social welfare as
a possible career avenue.
It's now opened up my eyes to not only where I can take my
psychology degree in the more social welfare context
but it's really opened up some career opportunities.
♪
A whole lot of local businesses and publishers and companies
have been so generous as to donate all these things that
you see here and what we're doing today is we're packing
them into these show bags which are going to then go on to be
given to disadvantaged kids at the picnic that
Wesley Mission is putting on for them.
♪
We're really privileged to be helping out with
Wesley Mission's annual picnic this year at Parramatta Park.
And what this day is about is celebrating the kids who have
come through the program through
Wesley Mission's various initiatives.
So this day is all about celebrating those kids
and giving them a really nice graduation and just having a
fun day out with their Aunties and Uncles who volunteered
for the program.
♪
I found working with the Macquarie students
to be absolutely fantastic.
They're a very intelligent young group, very enthusiastic
and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm just delighted that the PACE program has become
partnered with us at this time because it's one of those
ways in which we've been able to see it as a resource.
And I hope we've been able to resource young people too
in their experiences and their opportunities.
This PACE experience has been truly rewarding.
It's been a really helpful, self-reflective tool
and opened up the doors to many opportunities.
And it's really given me a practical insight into what
psychology looks like in the work force.
PACE is a program to be recommended to people.
If you want young people who will engage
and you'll give them an opportunity
and it's a win-win both ends,
I'd recommend it to any such organisation.