Meet Charlotte - our Youth Group NSW, extra-set-of-crafty-hands and wonderful volunteer. Charlotte is a student studying Medical Science by day so when she isn't head down in big text books, she is doing craft and helping the next generation of young people become more socially equipped, resilient and creative.

How did you get involved with youth group?

"My mum does some work for Rainbow Families, so I've always heard a lot about the different programs and the volunteer opportunities. I was doing a unit last semester at university, focused on leadership, but also collaboration and learning about how to best communicate and work in a team. Mum mentioned that there's always volunteering opportunities for Rainbow Families, and I thought that would be a good way to apply some of the things that I was learning. So I reached out to Sasha (our Youth Group Coordinator) about the youth group opportunity, and she said that it'd be really helpful to have another person to support the kids because there can be lots of different energy levels for to one person trying to match.

I've been going to most of the sessions for the last two terms, so for most of the year, and I've really enjoyed it. I think working and doing things with children is great, they have such a simple perspective on things in a way, they're not complicated by so many of the things that adults are. It's a really interesting way to kind of slow down once a week."

What else do you love about youth group?

"I think something that I really like is that often we're working on different little projects. I know we did one where Sasha's prompt was, we're going to make some inventions - and I've always loved crafting and I love textiles and making different things so I really enjoyed when the kids had these big ideas of, okay, I want to make this tree that does this or this machine or this invention, but I don't know exactly how to achieve that, or I don't know exactly how I can best create this out of the materials. I liked being able to bring the skills and say, let me help you turn this idea that you have into a physical thing.

We made clothes out of newspaper, and the kids did all their little sketches, but they were like.... I don't know how to make something that looks like this, so being able to help them turn these really incredibly creative ideas they have in their heads into what they see, and seeing how much they enjoy having that, is really nice.

I often find there are kids with niche interests. I've had friends who are into those things, so I can be like, oh, I know that video game, and they are really excited to have someone who is maybe a bit older than them who has that same interest. They think, oh wait, you know the same characters, and I can do the drawing for you, and you're recognizing what that is. It's really special."

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What’s been the best activity or event at Youth Group so far?

"I think there was one time when we made all of the clothes out of newspaper. 

Some of the kids were working on making these newspaper garments, which was super fun, and modeling them and really getting into that. 

I think that was really cool to see."

Why is youth group so important for kids in rainbow families, from your point of view?

"I think it's great that they're able to have such a strong community. I think it's always good to have great friendships and a strong network regardless, but I think there could be an opportunity for these kids to feel excluded or to feel alienated from other kids at school.

So it's really important to just pre‑empt anything that could become an issue because of that, and to establish a really strong community and network early on.

Even just them having somewhere where they can go and play and experiment with different crafts, watch movies, excursions and getting to do fun things. They probably don't even realise yet that Youth Group is also a really, really important network for them.

I think they will continue to be important relationships that they can have throughout life if things get a bit stressful, and it'll just provide more and more benefits as they grow up. They have a secondary network outside of school.

They're used to having had another place where they're socialising and there's often new kids that they're meeting each week, so they're really great at meeting new people, creating new connections, which are really valuable social skills. If you're only socialising in school, you do kind of get stuck in your group of your same friends and it can be a really big shock to move.

I think they're just all incredibly social and kind and welcoming, and having a consistent kind of social activity like that really helps them develop those skills."

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

"I think, just in general, I enjoy being able to help the kids because Uni can be stressful so I feel like it is really nice for me too. The kids are always great. They're always tell me stories about what school sport they did, and they're always like, 'Oh, can I braid your hair, or can I put little gems on your face?' And it's a nice kind of de‑stress. I can just be in this really simple, calm, creative space for a bit because they're a nice group of kids to look after.

And it's good to feel like I'm helping out.....but also I'm enjoying it! "