Motiv8, commencing in Term 2, 2025, is a forward-thinking initiative designed to foster lasting connections between Year 8 students and their community.
Youth engagement co-ordinator, Alex Ross, said that Tomorrow Today believes that Motiv8 will improve the wellbeing and engagement in education for students at this year level.
“Many people in the Benalla community will be aware of the work Tomorrow Today does with young people,” Alex said.
“The Full Impact Squad often makes the headlines with their popular community building activities and Connect9, Tomorrow Today’s cornerstone program for young people, is also well known.
“We have already had some positive responses from the Year 8 students and teachers, so we’re confident that Motiv8 will be beneficial.
“Now what we need is some enthusiastic adults to take up the ‘Honcho’ challenge to guide the students in the program.”
In Motiv8, groups of four students are teamed with a volunteer adult leader - their ‘Honcho’.
They meet every two-weeks during three school terms to work on a project or participate in hands-on activities.
A ‘Honcho’ needs to be confident and keen to lead students aged 13 to14 through the planned activities, with ongoing support from Tomorrow Today staff.
“You wouldn’t be dropped in the deep-end,” Alex said.
“We’re there to help every step of the way.
“We’ve designed the activities to be fun and engaging for the students and the leaders, so we think that our ‘Honchos’ will also get a lot of enjoyment from being part of Motiv8.”
If Motiv8 doesn’t sound like a perfect fit for you, Connect9 might be.
Connect9 matches a Year 9 student with an adult mentor from the local community.
Together, you would participate in a range of planned activities for a 10-week term.
The program connects students to new skills, sports and hobbies and gives them the opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences.
Connect9 co-ordinator, Karen Curl, said the Connect9 program concludes on a high with a glider flight over Benalla which mentors can also participate in.
“This year we’ve had a larger number of applicants for Connect9 than ever before,” Karen said.
“We’d love to welcome some new mentors to the program this year.”
You don’t need any prior experience to volunteer, training and assistance is provided by experienced staff.
Volunteers need to hold or be willing to apply for a ‘Working with Children Check’ which Tomorrow Today can assist with.
If you would like to volunteer for one of these youth programs, please contact Tomorrow Today on 5762 1211.
Volunteers can register online at https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/TomorrowTodayFoundation/volunteer.html
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