Geelong Community Unites to Support Local Youth. - Jan 1, 2010

Each year at Christmas, Whitelion looks for a venue to host a function for young people involved in the Geelong Leaving Care Mentoring program. The venue needs to be local, and be a place that young people from diverse backgrounds can come together and feel comfortable and welcome. And Cafe Go was the perfect place.

The proprietor of Cafe Go had spotted an advertisement for Whitelion mentors, and invited Whitelion Geelong to be part of their annual Christmas Dinner for disadvantaged young people.

The support from Cafe Go did not stop with Christmas dinner - thanks to Cafe Go staff lobbying local businesses for gifts, each Young Person attending also received a gift of movie tickets and other vouchers.

Christmas is often a time when disadvantaged young people feel alone and abandoned. It was heart-warming to see how much enjoyment the young people got from coming together to share a special meal, and to hear how much they valued the support shown to them by their local community.