By Dominique Tassell
A local charity ball is being held on 11 December to raise money and awareness for chaplaincy in the region.
The event is for the state schools in Warwick, and the Killarney, Maryvale and Wheatvale state schools. There are seven schools in total, with five chaplains.
The event will be held at 7 pm at King’s Theatre in Warwick CBD.
Peter James, the Group Chief Executive Officer at Scripture Union Australia, will be in attendance as will Goondiwindi Mayor, Lawrence Springborg.
Brenton Drennert, the president of the committee behind the event, says Mr Springborg will come and share his experience in all the different levels of government he’s been involved in, and his experience helping young people in rural areas.
Brenton says it’s all about highlighting the importance of investing in the well-being of our youth.
He says there is often a misconception that chaplains are in schools to carry out religious work, which is not the truth.
He says while they may be there in a spiritual aspect, their actual job is to provide emotional support.
While they may provide students with spiritual help if they ask for it, the main thing they do is work as youth workers.
Brenton says all chaplains are qualified youth workers, and that’s the most important part of what they do.
“The focus at the moment is on getting more people involved and interested in the wellbeing of children in the community,” he says.
The committee is also aiming to raise money to increase programs and hours for chaplaincy services.
“We get a certain amount of government funding, but for some of these schools that don’t receive government funding we’re looking to increase the availability of chaplains.”
He says some schools don’t have councillors or social workers, so it’s important for our youth to have someone to talk to about their wellbeing.
Chaplains also carry out breakfast and lunch programs, which is an important way they look after youth in our region.
“We want to get an increased number of monetary donations and volunteers to help chaplains carry out wellbeing programs that boost kids’ self-esteem,” Brenton says.
He highlighted that in some schools a lot of grandparents help out. He says the pandemic has highlighted the community spirit but also presented a lot of opportunities for people to help each other.
Brenton says it’s been a rough time for everybody.
He says they were lucky in that their chaplain from Killarney is from Warwick, so could still go to school even when half the teachers were stuck on the other side of the border.
Brenton says checking in on families on the new South Wales side of the border was an important part of the chaplaincy program.
You can find the ball on Facebook on the Warwick District Chaplaincy Charity Ball page, and buy your tickets at bit.ly/NightOfHope2021
