News
School holiday camps and programs introduce Clients to new activities
During the school holidays, we kept our young Clients booked and busy with lots of engaging activities – including a Mobility Olympics Camp, a makeup program supporting Clients to express themselves through makeup, and a ‘Cane or Canine’ session.
The three-day Mobility Olympics Camp took place at City CYC, a school camp facility in the heart of Melbourne CBD and was proudly sponsored by Perpetual’s 2023 Impact Philanthropy. Aiming to foster positive experiences in sport while developing skills in a fun and social environment, participants tried and explored various sports. We were privileged to have the Captain of the St Kilda AFL Blind team and ambassadors from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria facilitating activities like tennis and basketball with support from the Guide Dogs Orientation and Mobility Team and Occupational Therapy staff.
Image description: A Guide Dogs Victoria staff member holds a mesh bag full of soccer balls and is accompanied by two Clients as they travel on a tram to a sports field.
Image description: A camp member and coach playing Blind Tennis on an indoor tennis court. The camp member has her tennis racket raised and jumps on one foot as she hits the ball over the net.
Our two-day “Don’t Make It Up” program was hosted by our Occupational Therapy team, where participants with low vision or blindness learned about different beauty products, skincare and skin preparation, makeup application and removal – with the products generously donated by our long-standing national partner, Coles.
Image description: A young Client sits at a table with a makeup bag and makeup products around her. She has a brush raised to her face as she tests a product.
Image description: Two Clients test out moisturiser in their palms as a Guide Dogs Victoria team member shows them application techniques. Various makeup products cover the table in front of them.
Lastly, in the final week of the school holidays, our Guide Dog Services and Vision Services Teams hosted a special session of ‘Cane or Canine?’ where secondary school-aged Clients who are considering transitioning to a Guide Dog in the future learned about the differences between navigating their world with a Guide Dog versus a long cane. They also had the unique and exclusive opportunity to experience working alongside a Guide Dog.
GDV has successfully been running this program for adults for many years and this was the first time our younger clients got to experience the informative and hands-on program that gives a deeper understanding of the differences between a long cane and a Guide Dog as a mobility aid. Each of the attendants had a chance to walk a short route with their long cane, then travelling routes with two different Guide Dogs.
In-between these walks, the Guide Dog Team provided lessons in basic dog handling, obedience, grooming and health care, and participants also had the opportunity to ask one of our young Guide Dog Handlers about their experience getting their first Guide Dog.
Many of the attendants said that the program helped confirm their intentions of training with a Guide Dog some day and others started planning how to make this transition happen in coming years.
If you are interested in attending a youth ‘Cane or Canine?’ session, we will be running another in early 2025. Please speak with your Orientation and Mobility Specialist to register your interest.
Thank you to Perpetual and Coles for your support powering this initiative, to our Clients for joining us, and to everyone who made these enriching and empowering experiences possible! We can’t wait to host more camps and programs in the future.
Curious about our next school holiday camps?
Whether you missed out or want to join our next school holiday adventures – mark Monday 23 September to Wednesday 25 September 2024 on your calendars for our Senior Student Client Camp held at our new sensory-rich, fully accessible Campus.
If you’re after information, workshops, or even just a chat – check out our events and community happenings.
