Report: Ms Leptos
It took me 20 minutes and the aid of Google Maps to get to the Lalor Salvos by car. Goodness knows how cousins Destiny and Bowen make it there on time by taking public transport each Thursday.
Duty supervisor Cordelle is genuinely enthusiastic about the WRSC duo, and says she would be delighted to furnish them with a work reference when they needed one. In Cordelle’s view, our students compare very favourably with others from a nearby school.
“The (other students) approached the Salvos store for a volunteering position,” she says. “You could tell that they simply didn’t want to be here. By contrast, Bowen and Destiny are full of enthusiasm. As soon as they arrive they want to know what jobs we have lined up for them. “They are friendly, helpful and approachable. They are great with customers. People have even commented to us that they thought the William Ruthven students were ‘just lovely’. Bowen and Destiny are great to work with and they are very supportive of the other staff.”
Destiny and Bowen volunteering.
It’s with some pride that the students describe the various parts of their work at the Salvos. Destiny is attuned to the rhythms of the store: “Discount days are really hectic. We get a lot of people who come in with store and pension discount cards and the shop gets full of people. It’s been great getting experience on the register as it’s helped me with my part time job on the register at KFC. One of the neverending jobs is the cleaning up of the toy section. The kids go through everything, trying out all the toys before they settle on the ones they want.”
When asked about their plans for future careers, both Bowen and Destiny are unclear about the direction they will take, but as Bowen says, “all the skills we learn here can transfer to all sorts of jobs. We had to learn how to be really responsible and organised. We had to learn how to use the public transport system, and to be honest, the first time we went there we got confused and lost. It was trial and error but it’s perfect now.”
Their parents are very supportive of their children taking on volunteering as a school elective. “
It’s a great way for our children to get a head start in the workforce,” they say.