In Focus: The Education Award

Education — Winner: Wellington Soldiers Club 

This year marked the very first time that Wellington Soldiers Memorial Club put forward a nomination for the Clubs & Community Awards — and they won! 

Wellington Soldiers Memorial Club launched a university scholarship scheme to aid Wellington's youth in pursuing higher education, particularly considering the challenges of distance from major universities and the financial impact of relocating to a major city.  

The scheme, which received overwhelming interest, awarded scholarships to 14 deserving students this year, with funding raised from an initial $20,000 allocation to $27,000 due to exceptional applications.  

With a focus on addressing local shortages in healthcare professionals, the scheme aims to encourage students to return to their community after completing their studies and stop the 'brain drain'.  

“One of the reasons we decided to go ahead with it was to stop that ‘brain drain’ from small country towns where you have the best of the students leave the town to go to university and you never see them again,” Wellington Soldiers Memorial Club Director Barry Jeffrey said. 

“We’ve never been nominated, let alone made the finals, let alone win — I think it's just brilliant and it will pick the Club up in the community’s mind a whole lot more.” 

Plans are already underway to expand the scheme into other educational areas such as TAFE and apprenticeships.  

Education — Winner: Workers Lifestyle Group

 The second winner in this category was the Workers Lifestyle Group, who since 2022 has donated more than $43,000 to Blacktown North Public School to support the Resilient Kids Program, which helps kids who are still falling behind as a result of the COVID lockdowns. 

Issues such as not speaking English at home and lack of confidence lead to children falling behind and increasing problematic behavioural issues.  

The Resilient Kids Program is child-centric and provides interventions to boost the children's learning.  

This program has provided the foundations for these vulnerable children to have positive relationships with themselves and others, and to learn new skills that will enable them to learn, grow and thrive. 

Education — Highly Commended: Castle Hill RSL 

The first winner of the Highly Commended plaque was the Castle Hill RSL Group.  

In collaboration with NAPCAN, Castle Hill RSL Group has embarked on a transformative journey through the Love Bites program, unlocking the untapped potential of youth through artistic expression in the Hills, Parramatta and Hawkesbury regions. 

Over the past three years, Castle Hill RSL Club, in partnership with NAPCAN, Castle Hill Police Local Area Command and local high schools, has implemented the Love Bites program, aiming to equip young people with knowledge for respectful relationships and critical thinking skills.  

This initiative, reaching over 1000 students in 2023 alone, combines interactive workshops addressing relationship violence with creative expression sessions, enabling students to confront societal challenges and effect positive change in their communities. 

You can read more about the Castle Hill RSL Group’s work here.

Education — Highly Commended: Mounties Group

Mounties Group was also awarded a Highly Commended after it reaffirmed its commitment to empowering Indigenous youth by donating $75,000 to the KARI Foundation.  

This contribution supported 500 Indigenous children in Western Sydney and the Central Coast, providing them with backpacks as they embark on their high school journey.  

The Mounties Group decided to donate $75,000 more, enabling the creation of an additional 500 backpacks for primary and high school students.  

Mounties Group staff were proud to volunteer their time to pack all 500 bags and personally deliver them to local charities.