A Cinderella moment for Carnarvon children

Children and young people had a night they’ll never forget as they celebrated NAIDOC Week in style at their local PCYC.

Carnarvon PCYC hosted a NAIDOC Ball with the goal of providing a special evening for children and young people to celebrate their culture.

NAIDOC Week has a high profile in Carnarvon; however, with the community noticing a lack of celebrations for children and young people, Carnarvon PCYC decided to collaborate with their local NAIDOC Committee to create an event for children to enjoy too.

Many children attending Carnarvon PCYC don’t have a big choice of clothes and shoes to wear, so Carnarvon PCYC Centre Manager, Harmony Gould, immediately began putting feelers out in the community seeking donations. She couldn’t believe the number of donations that came flooding in!

PCYC staff and representative from Ngala, Sahneemah, ensured they had appropriate clothing items and shoes for all children and young people attending. Sahneemah also gathered a small team of women, who volunteered their time on the evening to provide make-up application, hair styling and outfit assistance to ensure everyone attending the ball felt as special as possible.

Carnarvon PCYC Centre Manager, Harmony Gould said, “The ball was deemed the highlight of NAIDOC events in our community.”

“We couldn’t be happier, knowing we have made our community proud.”

The cherry on the cake for Carnarvon PCYC staff was seeing previously disengaged young people attend the event, with their heads held high, beaming with confidence alongside their parents, grandparents and guardians.

Acknowledgements

The ball wouldn’t have been possible without the countless volunteer hours that were put in during the weeks leading up to the ball.

Harmony Gould, Natasha Richards, Rena Abreu, Josh Chapman, Amy Ryan-Robartson and Gail Bellotti all volunteered their time to assist with the set-up and pack down of the event. Cheryl Moncrieff provided transportation, offering both collection and drop-off services.

Aboriginal Community Relations Officer, Natalie Clark, helped to raise donations for the ball, appealing to local businesses and the Police for support. The following items were donated thanks to her immense efforts:

• Carnarvon Toy World – In-store items donated to the value of $450 for showbags for attendees to take home.
• Carnarvon Sports – 10 Gift Vouchers valued at $50 and $100 for prize winners of the following awards:
  » Best Dressed - Male and Female (3 various age categories)
  » Best Dance Moves – Male and Female
  » Prize for Top Behaviour – Male and Female
• WA Police Force – A generous donation of netballs, soccer balls, footballs, hats, stickers, key rings, pocket-sized hand sanitisers and hand-held stress balls to contribute to the showbags.
• Horizon Power – Donation of mini footballs for the showbags.
• Triple 777 Pharmacy – Donation of earrings, hair and makeup products and perfume to ensure the girls felt the best they could for the evening.
• Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) – A small team of women provided assistance with setting up decorations for the event.

All in all, thanks to the collaboration of the Carnarvon community, it was a night that will be remembered for years to come.