Charity drive just got a lot easier
A charity renowned for helping steer youths away from trouble and into employment has a new set of wheels thanks to the efforts of a northern Gold Coast community.
ESuarve founder Joseph Te PuniFromont was handed the keys to a new bus at the Pimpama Tavern on Tuesday night by Division 1 councillor Mark Hammel on behalf of the Rotary Club of Ormeau-Pimpama, which raised $77,000 from more than 20 sponsors to fund the purchase of the vehicle.
“We were getting around with one van. The ability to be able to transport all of our kids at one time is going to be so beneficial,” Mr Te Puni-Fromont said.
“To be able to get transport out to more young people, make sure we get them to the program, get them to their wellbeing exercises or to job interviews, it’s massive. The support we’ve got from the community, especially, the Rotary Club, it’s humbling.”
ESuarve runs 10-week programs for young people referred to it by agencies including the Queensland Police Service and residential care services. It has won plaudits for its extraordinary success rate in ensuring youths who have previously had brushes with the law go into employment and do not reoffend.
Opposition leader David Crisafulli, who was keynote speaker at Tuesday night’s handover, said “gold standard” early intervention programs such as ESuarve’s needed greater support.
“When you look at the money they’ve got from the state government over the last two years wouldn’t even be enough to house one young offender in detention for a year, it shows you that the priorities of the government are all wrong”, he said.
The event was also attended by Federal member for Forde Bert van Manen and Coomera MP Michael Crandon who said: “It’s changing lives. And when you change one young person’s life, you change their family’s life, and when you change their family’s life, you’ve changed the community’s life.”