Philip Smart | Adelaide
The 2015 Queensland Returned Services League (RSL) Youth Development Program will focus on helping realise the dreams of students from families of former and serving veterans.
The annual Youth Development Program (YDP), run in conjunction with Bond University, makes grants of up to $5000 each to students in Years 10 and 11 and has awarded more than $3 million to 1400 Queensland students since its inception in 2007. This year 200 students will receive grants of between $2500 and $5000.
The grants are designed to assist motivated young leaders in achieving their goals in community, sporting or cultural endeavours. Past grants have helped a Maroochydore Year 12 student attend a kayak regatta, where his performance earned him a position in the national under-18s kayak team, and enabled a Burpengary student to join a cultural exchange to Indonesia, teaching English as a volunteer in a local school.
RSL State President Terry Meehan AM said the YDP had traditionally been open to all young Queenslanders but the League would now be placing greater focus on providing support for students from families of former and serving veterans.
“In this ANZAC centenary year, we want to engage with students from Australian Defence Force families, who face their own challenges,” Mr Meehan said. “These students often live in regional areas, have to move home and schools more regularly, live on a base and potentially have family members on deployment for long periods. The program can assist them to reach their goals and experience life-changing opportunities.”
RSL YDP recipients are also eligible to apply for an RSL ANZAC Scholarship which covers half the cost of an undergraduate degree at Bond University (excluding the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery).
Applications close on Remembrance Day, November 11, and can be made on-line at www.RSLyouth.com.au.