The school holidays were rather different for two Hurstville teenagers, who spent much of their time expanding a united mission.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Year 12 Sydney Boys' High students Andrew Wang and Daniel Su are active members of their school's community services committee. They were inspired to see how fundraising gestures could help make a difference to people in need.
But they wanted to do more. They became co-directors of HEY, which stands for Help Elevate Youth. Launched in 2023, the non-profit organisation was established alongside enthusiastic volunteers eager to spread the word that more needs to be done for their generation.
It's an entirely youth-led, national organisation that addresses homelessness by uplifting disadvantaged youth and marginalised communities. Through its digital platform, grassroots organising, and community-based initiatives, the pair strive to combat youth homelessness by designing special care and relief packages to provide relief and comfort.
Care packages include items such as thick socks, non-perishable food, hygiene kits, blanket and a reusable water bottle. By distributing the packs to charitable organisations, they aim to empower young people so they can sustain a positive physical and mental well-being.
HEY partners with children's hospitals, orphanages, and homeless shelters to provide resources and programs that advocate for children's education. In 2023, HEY donated more than 60 packages to St Vincent De Paul and the Salvation Army at Hurstville. Through collaborative efforts with more than 10 organisations, they successfully raised $850.
Most recently, this month, they donated more than 60 packages to Westmead Children's Hospital, each containing plush toys, stationery, colouring sheets and chocolate.
This year the team is working with children's hospital and care centres by organising educational workshops. It also has a podcast, and they work with industry guests to learn more about how they can make positive change. HEY also encourages more volunteers to join their efforts.
"Being involved in community events I was inspired to create positive impact and an organisation led by high school students," Andrew said. "Once I joined the community services committee at school, I wanted to help more people, and expand the impact I was seeing. The focus is to lift disadvantage."
Daniel's motivation and passion started in a similar way. "I have always been involved in community service and volunteering in high school, but a lot of youth issues are still being neglected," he said. "I've seen firsthand, evidence of youth homelessness in my school where students would drop out. It's about creating basic, immediate solutions, not long-term ones."
