On Tuesday 13th July, members of Big Bangs Australia ran a basketball clinic for 34 kids at St Vinnie’s Holiday Camp.

The St Vincent de Paul Society’s 40,000 members and volunteers work hard to assist people in need and combat social injustice across Australia. Internationally, the Society operates in 130 countries and has over 950,000 members.  A small part of their work has been school holiday camps for disadvantaged and at-risk kids; you just know we couldn’t resist helping them out!

Our group of 10 volunteers ran the kids through warmups, team-building activities, several drills and of course basketball games.  Through the course of the day our volunteers set a great example for the kids; they showed patience, an ability to listen and interact, and where required stepped in to resolve any conflicts or issues.

Big Bangs’ basketball clinics are a small yet significant part of our overall services.  By providing young people with positive role models, lots of encouragement and enthusiasm, not to mention a whole day of team-building, we are giving kids the opportunity to see an alternate way of life to that which they may be exposed to.  Over the years we have found that even simple encouragement throughout the day can be a wonderful catalyst for a young person’s development and increased awareness of their environment and the people within it.

It was a wonderful day, and would not have been possible without our great volunteers and the lovely staff at St Vinnies.

Big Bangs and St Vinnies staff