School Holiday Activity Program off to a fun filled start

The Cooloola Coast Youth Activity Project (CCYAP) held the first day of its School Holiday Activity Program yesterday with 35+ local and visiting young people enjoying the free program.

The program included volleyball, touch football, badminton, quoits, Oztag and an exercise program led by local health and fitness instructor, Krystal Brookes.

Robyn Long, grandmother of visiting granddaughter Charlie said, “It was a pleasure to see the interaction taking place between local and visiting children.

“Charlie loves coming up to visit us on school holidays and enjoys the laid-back and peaceful environment but it also gave her the opportunity to meet other young people of her own age.

“This free program is an excellent way for young people to socialise with others in a supervised activity and is greatly appreciated by parents and grandparents alike.”

CCYAP Chairman George Parkyn said, “Our team of volunteers has been working on the six day program for several weeks and it is pleasing to see a good number of young people attend the first day of activities.

“We especially hope that families who can’t afford to go away for the holidays or make a trip into the larger towns to go shopping or to the movies will take advantage of the activities.

“Cooloola Cove is a low-socio economic area with high unemployment and a large retiree population and there is a vast difference in the activities available in neighbouring Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach compared to what is available at Cooloola Cove.

“To help with this we have developed a program where young people can hop on a bus to Tin Can Bay and play tennis, cricket and even do some fishing. All activities are free and funded with money raised through garage sales and sausage sizzles.”
“Other local organisations have been supportive with donations of money or food. We will be applying for a grant in the next round of Gympie Regional Council grants which will provide seed funding for activities for the September/October and Christmas holidays,” George said.

The next activity will be held on Wednesday June, 29 in the Cooloola Sands Shopping Centre car park and will feature organised games and the Pat-A-Pet Animal Farm from Gympie. The team is hoping to have over 300 young people attend the organised activities for six days during the holidays.

CCYAP is a not-for-profit organisation made up of local volunteers with a heart for young people and a desire to see them encouraged, supported and empowered.

For more information please email: ccyapchair@gmail.com or call 0435 72 32 10