Service To Others – Duke Of Edinburgh

‘Be a part of your community through service’

Many of the boys may have seen this on the copious amount of electric notice boards around the school, as a way to promote the Duke of Edinburgh program.

See I would be amazed if every boy who read this quote didn’t run home and start the program.  However, in case there were a few who weren’t arrested by the advertisement, this is for you.

Thanks to the support of my parents and the dedicated Duke of Edinburgh assessors at Shore I have recently completed the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award.  The truth is that it was a lot of hours and a little bit of discipline, but the beauty is that us Shore boys basically fill the required criteria in our normal school lives.  Hence, a lot of the award was simply routine.  However, I want to focus on one particular aspect, the Gold residential project.

For me, this the residential project was much more than just a checking a box off for Duke of Edinburgh.  I attended an Edmund Rice Camp, which is a Christian organisation that provides holiday experiences for young people aged 7 – 16 years who would not otherwise be able to enjoy them. 

Upon my return to home, and school, I quickly realised that my experience of camp was almost indescribable.  Indeed, it was easy to describe what activities happened, but the sense of community and belonging that Edmund Rice Camps emits needs to be experienced to be understood.  It is cliché, but service truly does evoke a sense of inner fulfilment. 

It was this occurrence that allowed me to see that the Duke of Edinburgh award process was much more that ticking boxes in hope of receiving a piece of paper and a thumbs up from your Housemaster.  It was about the experience, about becoming part of a new community that I would otherwise not have been exposed too.  And with that, I challenge all Shore boys to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. 

Alec Manchee Yr 12