Council’s youth van made its debut at a pool party in Narooma and is ready to pop-up in a space near you.
The van is bright and colourful just like the team driving it, says Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher.
“I am loving Council’s initiative to go mobile and pop-up at different locations across the shire,” he said.
“We all know kids are looking for things to do, so this is one way for them to break up routine and have some fun after school with our awesome youth team – Ashley, Michaela and Rhonnie.”
To find out where the van will be throughout the year, follow ‘Eurobodalla Youth’ on Instagram.
The van is stocked with snacks and activities and could turn any open space into a fun scene for youth. The initiative was officially announced at a youth pool party event at Narooma pool on Friday 2 February.
The van was set up alongside other youth services, lawn games, arts and crafts tables and free tacos.
However, the hot afternoon meant splashing about and cooling off in the pool was the favourite activity.
“It was a great afternoon at Narooma, with kids clearly loving the inflatables and water pistols in the pool,” Mayor Hatcher said.
“Everyone joined into Muladha Gamara’s welcome to country. It felt right to invite a young person up to cut the ribbon, so Oliver won the lucky draw to do the honours with me before everyone bolted back to the pool.”
Council’s youth and community development coordinator Rhonnie South said the team looked forward to their first few pop-ups.
“We’re keen to build relationships with more teens and hear what they want to do,” she said.
“If we hear they want to learn things like bicycle maintenance or maybe a dance routine for example, we could bring in some local talent to meet us at the pop-up and run a workshop.”
“There are loads of possibilities; we can’t wait to see what the year brings now we have a set of wheels to reach young people in all corners of our shire.”
Council funded the van with support from Coordinare and St Vincent de Paul for the fit out. Council’s youth team will continue to work with the Eurobodalla youth committee and local services to bring activities and after-school programs.
“Being mobile also means our qualified youth workers can increase social supports and provide young people with more opportunities to build social connections and positive relationships,” Ms South said.
For all upcoming youth events, visit our youth web page.
