Joe Healey (12B) invited to participate in The Great Alpine Walk
Hey everyone,
Back in 2015, when I was in Year 8 at Koonung, I was offered a chance to be part of a group of students who went on a hiking camp to Wollangarra; an Outdoor Education Centre located on the banks of the Macalister River, near Licola in Gippsland. In my week there I learnt that ‘Woll’ was so much more than just a week of no homework and several hard days of hiking.
Wollangarra provides a safe environment for young kids, such as myself, to learn important life skills, discover and learn about the environment and greater outdoors as well as spending a week with other young kids while being disconnected from the internet and other technological distractions.
Every year Wollangarra, in partnership with Mittagundi (their sister education centre out near Omeo), offers a special program, The Great Alpine Walk, to 5 people from each camp who have “shown considerable support, enthusiasm and passion, while demonstrating their leadership capabilities over the course of the previous year’s programs”. I was selected to be a part of the 2019 team, along with 4 other wonderful young people
that I have met and got to know last year. We will set out on the 11 April from the Macalister Springs and arrive on the 20 at Mittagundi.
As well as being given this opportunity to complete this amazing journey of over 150km, winding up and down the peaks of mountains in the Alpine National Park, I have been charged with fundraising a minimum of $500 for Wollangarra. This money will cover both the cost of the expedition and, if I exceed the target, will raise money for Wollangarra so that they can sponsor disadvantaged young people to come and have the same experience and opportunities that I have had.
I urge you to check out Wollangarra if you are interested in this kind of thing, I’ve never met anyone who has had a bad experience there and it’s a great chance to get away from the busy city life, electricity and mobile phones and just have some real, fun and enjoyable experiences with other young people.
I’m always trying to get my friends from school & Melbourne to come to ‘Woll’ and so this will be really awesome to know that apart from enjoying this great experience, we are also helping kids to experience the great environment and community the Wollangarra offers and become better people from the experience as I have.
Please donate using the link below, any amount helps and means to so much to me and the wider Wollangarra community.
Kindest regards & many thanks
Joe Healey 12B
Code: JHAW19
BSB: 633000
Account No: 139880017