Strong Together – Year 8 Service

Our year has started strong!

Some of our volunteers from last year attended an event in March hosted by Inner West Neighbour Aid as part of Seniors week activities. The 2026 Seniors Festival theme was ‘Live Life in Colour’. Our students listened attentively to a panel who shared some of their stories and accompanied them on a walk through the 5 Senses Garden at Rhodes Park. A highlight was discovering cucamelons – small grape sized fruit that resemble tiny watermelons and have a tart, citrusy flavour – try them in your next salad!!

Our regular monthly service started mid March, and we are thrilled to see the new cohort of volunteers doing a tremendous job continuing success of the program. They were thrown in the deep end, participating in a media interview with Burwood Council about the intergenerational program.

Here’s what one of our students Manjima Dutta-Gupta had to say….

‘My first time at the Strong Together volunteering was absolutely amazing. I was nervous at first but when we started the icebreaker and got talking it was just fun. I got to know so many people and hear such wonderful stories; it was such a nice time to just interact and talk with one another and learn so much. I even got the advice of a lifetime “Your passion is your spark, but don’t let it burn you out, find your well and let that replenish you”.  And it’s the kindness, laughter and smiles filling the room that just want to make you stay and talk for ages. Overall I had such a lovely spectacular time at Inner West Neighbour Aid.’

And from the program coordinator Emel….

‘Feedback from our clients has again been fabulous! Everyone was impressed with the maturity of the girls and their thoughtful responses to the various questions, especially one about their plans for the future. Many also mentioned how genuine the students were and how much they enjoyed their positive, youthful energy. It was lovely hearing the clients chatting with each other and feel their enthusiasm for the program.’

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