Helping by just having a cuppa

A GROUP of young school-leavers banded together last week to help the cause of cancer research and support.

The group, who are part of a local Links to Learning program, decided to host an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event last Thursday, making all the preparations for the gathering themselves.

Maree Dalby is the coordinator of Wollongong’s Links to Learning program.

“The program is for 15 to 24-year-olds no longer in school who haven’t done the Higher School Certificate,” she said.

“Its main purpose is to re-engage them in learning and training and set them on the path towards employment.”

Ms Dalby said getting the participants to organise a charity event like Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is a win-win situation, because the community benefits and the young people involved gain valuable skills for life and work.

“I think they really like being able to do something for other people and doing it as a group is a way of doing it safely for them,” she said.

“I think they find it really inspiring.”

Ms Dalby said last year about 70 percent of the people who came through the program went into further education or employment.

She said there are a number of reasons young people might end up in Links to Learning, most of which are out of their control.

“The reasons (they have left school) can vary – sometimes they’ve moved around a lot so they’ve had trouble connecting in a particular school, sometimes it can be a dysfunctional home, sometimes it can be very basic learning barriers,” Ms Dalby said.

Last week’s event raised about $250 for the Cancer Council.

The group had hoped to raise twice that amount, but were happy to have raised as much as they did.