MERCURY SERIES - Making A Difference
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Lee Taylor and Sue Phillips, of City Central Laundry, are two of many small business operators giving opportunities to local youth through their generous support of Twilight Tournaments.
Despite the impact of global economic uncertainty on themselves, they have personal reasons to help keep young people off the street every Saturday night.
The weekly event, run during each school term, provides a sporting competition to give young people something to do.
There is also a workshop to help them learn life skills.
The initiative, funded by state government health, housing, sport and children's services budgets also relies on many volunteers and many small businesses who have helped provide everything from catering, uniforms and transport to prizes.
They have included Tip Top Bakeries, The Athlete's Foot (Wollongong), WB Sports and Apparel, Packaging Direct, Hennessy Coffee, Leisure Coast Fruit and Deli, Subway (Crown Street), City Central Laundry Service, International House at the University of Wollongong, Julio's Pizzas, Illawarra Steelers, Spicy Apple, Shellharbour and Wollongong councils, Eagle Boys Pizza, IT&T and Wollongong and Lake Illawarra PCYCs.
Many of the business owners also assist Rotarians on the night by helping to serve the food.
"We wash and clean their basketball strips or whatever laundry they have," Ms Phillips said.
Mr Taylor said he got involved because he knew how important it was to give young people in the community opportunities. "I was in the same circumstances as these kids when I was younger. I was in a Housing Commission home and stuff like that."
Mr Taylor said when he left school he was given an opportunity to work and it gave him the confidence to start his own business.
"Now it is time to give back," he said.
Rotarians such as Norm Miller, Sue Clark, Adriana Pyrah, John Berghuis, Grant Xu, Tess McMaugh and Ian McMaugh are among many who enjoy helping to prepare and serve meals.
They all love seeing the impact the program, overseen by program manager Darren Bell, chair Rebecca Bell and logistics co-ordinator Leigh Robinson, has.
Mr Bell said all assistance was appreciated by those taking part.
At the end of each night the participants are taken home in buses donated by Access Community Group, the University of Wollongong International House and Lighthouse Church and driven by volunteers.
Twilight Tournaments was initiated by Di Woods, of NSW Health and the Illawarra Community Drug Action Team, and are run under the auspice of the Access Community Group.
Rotary Club of Wollongong Vocational Service chair Dot Hennessy said a bare minimum of 20 volunteers was required each night to support up to 60 young people. But more were needed and more help was required with providing food, fuel and prizes.
"We try to ensure that each child receives some form of reward," she said.
"While we receive some government funding in the form of grants, a great part of the cost of the tournaments is covered by community donations, in cash and in kind. Police from Lake Illawarra and Wollongong Local Area Command provide us great support and they assist with a police presence most nights."
Mrs Bell said they needed more help with score keeping to general supervision.
"We started off very small with only about 10 volunteers so we had to push it and grow from there," she said.
"We have our regulars that come every single week and then we have some people who just come when they can. We have a lot of TAFE students, uni students and people who are looking to be in the youth sector. And then we have general every day people who just want to be involved."