Volunteering is a key element of Ladder’s program model. Not only does it encourage our participants to “give back”, it also helps young people boost their self-confidence and provides them with a connection to their local community.

Recently, Ladder participants began volunteering with The Rev Bill Crews Foundation, an organisation that provides assistance to address the cause and effect of homelessness and poverty. The Foundation achieves this through a combination of caring services like food provision, social welfare and education support.

During the first volunteering session, Ladder Development Coaches and participants prepared and served nutritious meals to people experiencing hardship. As part of this, they also sorted and packed hampers to be distributed to those in-need within the community.

Hayley, one of our young people who volunteered joined the Step Up Sydney program in November. Hayley’s initial goals included becoming job ready and improving her nutrition. This volunteering opportunity was a great learning experience for her. Hayley also learned what it was like to be part of the workforce, was able to add this experience to her resume and also learned about preparing nutritious meals.

We look forward to providing many more volunteers to the Rev Bill Crews Foundation in the future.