Pepper Money Real Life Stories: SYFS provides platform for youth to kickstart lives

The incredible work of the Illawarra Hawks in the community has been highlighted all season long through its Pepper Money Real Life Stories program.

That fantastic commitment has been featured through profile stories on Clontarf, Healthy Cities Illawarra, Jammers, MCCI and Greenacres Disability Services.

The final community service that partook in the program during the NBL22 season is Southern Youth and Family Services (SYFS).

"SYFS is an amazing organisation, that works with youth across the Illawarra - which made them an easy choice to be part of our Pepper Money Real Life Stories program," said Hawks community engagement officer Tim Coenraad.

"Their goal is to give vulnerable youth the life skills and make them more attractive to employers across the region, whether that be employment coaching or helping write their resume.

"Personally, I love organisations that give people who haven't had the best start in life a purpose and through this program, it makes their clients that little bit more attractive to the workforce and that goal attainable."

SYFS is an organisation that has the main purpose of supporting and caring for children, young people, adults and families who are disadvantaged, including those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness and their families.

This work provides supported accommodation, community social housing, counselling, mediation, support and the delivery of a range of programs to improve the life situation of children, young people, adults and families.

"The Hawks and SYFS have worked closely together for more than five years and during that time, the club has come to appreciate the job we do with youth in the region and the real difference it makes," said SYFS partnership and activities liaison/youth support worker Jason Saladino.

"Most of our clients have gone through countless struggles in their lives and we're very proud and grateful to be acknowledged by the Hawks and Pepper Money.

"This support will most definitely help give these clients a leg-up in their search for employment, as shown by two already securing jobs at licensed venues - which is an incredible result.

"From our perspective, this highlights the exceptional work the Hawks have done in the community over the past few years, which will only grow and strengthen relationships with organisations like ours moving forward."

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As part of the program, Pepper Money and the Hawks will collectively contribute $1,000 to the program, which has been used to help four employment, education and training clients obtain their Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certificates.

Chloe, one of those four clients, was given the opportunity to recently put her skills into practice at the Illawarra Hotel, thanks to publican Nikki Aitchison - who admits she was happy to provide a platform for youth to follow their dreams in the hospitality industry.

"As soon as Brett [Amatto] told me about this opportunity provided by the Hawks and Pepper Money, I jumped at the chance to be involved," said Chloe, who joined SYFS at the end of 2017 when she just turned 18.

"Especially as I've been working in hospitality since I was 16 and love it.

"To be given the platform to experience a venue like the Illawarra Hotel is something I'm extremely grateful for, especially as COVID has made it extremely hard for employers to take new people on at their venues."

This is just one example of how important SYFS has been in Chloe's life.

"If I didn't go into SYFS a couple of years ago, I probably would have been homeless," she said.

"They've made a huge impact on me for a long time now, including feeding me, putting a roof over my head, giving me support - pretty much anything I've needed, which I'm extremely thankful for."

Pepper Money’s head of brand and sponsorship David Berry was excited to see their support provide an avenue for youth in the Illawarra to chase their goals.

“As a business built on the pursuit of helping people succeed, our goal is to help make dreams real – and our Real Life Stories program has been a powerful demonstration of our commitment to young people like Chloe,” Berry said.

“Throughout the NBL22 season, Illawarra Hawks and Pepper Money have come together to support a host of inspiring people and organisations to thrive, and we’re really excited to continue our focus on the community beyond this season.”