Volunteer Otago – ‘The Chicks Project’
Not-for-profit organisation, Volunteer Otago, plans to launch a youth mentoring programme for Otago musicians called ‘The Chicks Project’ from July 2010.
Volunteer Otago plans to join forces with Students Against Drink Driving, Youthline Otago and Dunedin’s young people to produce weekly for youth, by youth, music events. At present, there are no regular, supervised, alcohol free music events aimed at high school students in Dunedin. They aim to change that by establishing a mentoring programme for young musicians, helping them to develop their musical and performance skills and nurturing the formidable talents of Dunedin youth! They plan to foster a community that values the diversity, creativity and drive of our young people.
The objectives for this programme are:
- To provide young people with a safe, friendly and regular space to meet and listen to music produced by their peers.
- To promote, develop and mentor the talents of young musicians in Dunedin
- To develop and mentor aspiring young sound technicians
- To provide an employment and career development opportunity for an unemployed young person
- To promote social services and volunteering to young people
- To promote the positive aspects of young people to the wider community
Why should they win the Believe Scholarship?
“This project is inclusive, exciting, visual, auditory and all round rad. The initial findings of the Dunedin Youth Survey have shown that young people want more activities for youth by youth - we hope to work alongside our youth to fill that gap. This project is a real chance to celebrate the awesomeness of our young people and get them involved in something that will provide positive social outcomes for everyone.”
Who will benefit from this?
The young musicians who will gain skills in performance and professional mentoring, the musicians who gain experience by teaching young people the ‘ins and outs’ of their industry. Dunedin youth, who will have the opportunity to engage in positive, proactive activities on a regular basis, celebrate their own achievements and contribute to a meaningful creative community. The community at large, who will benefit by having more engaged, active young people.
With a projected budget of $13,000 needed to get The Chicks Project off the ground, Volunteer Otago has applied for the full $3000 Believe Scholarship to help them get there. When asked which Toyota ‘Believe statement’ best links to their activity they said “We believe that if you can dream it you can do it”.
Vote for Volunteer Otago now if you think they should win the Believe Scholarship!
Voting closes on September 10th 2010 at 5pm.
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