Hi there, and welcome to your first North Zone Director’s Update!
I’m sure I’ve touched base with many of you over the years, but a short introduction to refresh your memories: I’m Ian Cumming, and I have the privilege of serving SU’s North Zone. Our region is geographically huge – covering the top half of Queensland, west through the Northern Territory, and all the way over to the Kimberleys in Western Australia. While we are stretched across a massive area (Gladstone to Broome is 41 hours in the car!), in my opinion, we have some of the most amazing, authentic people you could ever meet.
I’m looking forward to the connections you’ll be making with our fantastic team of leaders, and also to be personally working closer with you as together we invest in the next generation of young people. Thank you for coming along on the ride – it’s bound to be an interesting one!
We’ve been blessed with a fantastic team of leaders here in the North Zone, and have found ourselves a really good cultural fit. From day dot there’s been a sense of camaraderie and we’re excited to continue building our team culture and dream about all that’s in store for the future. This term, we’ll be holding a forum in Townsville and leaders Ox, Julie and David will be travelling over from the Northern Territory to meet with us.
An update on the Northern Territory
Ox has been doing some incredible work in the Northern Territory, speaking with the Chief Minister about sourcing more funding for chaplaincy work in the new round of funding which begins in 2023. One of the great advantages to being part of a National movement means we can reach and impact the lives of more young people on the ground.
Our NT team has also been looking at ways to develop an Indigenous Chaplaincy program, and many conversations are being had about how we can bring on-the-ground support so people can continue to live happy and healthy lives in their home communities. I’ve been really encouraged by this project and I hope you are too. Be sure to keep an ear out for all that’s happening in this space – we’ll have some exciting developments to share shortly.
Recovery Fund
Due to the Recovery Fund that SU set up in October 2020 (and despite COVID’s impacts on LCC fundraising), chaplains across Queensland were able to remain employed and retain working hours to serve their school communities. This was so important given the additional demands on young people, parents and school staff across the pandemic.
SU’s Recovery Fund – money set aside from SU reserves – was able to continue to assist schools struggling to raise community funds. By the end of 2021, SU’s Recovery Fund will have invested a total of $1,140,000 back into 161 schools across Queensland: 1 independent school, 7 special schools, 41 state high schools and 112 state schools.
Nearly a quarter of schools who employ an SU chaplain across Queensland have received amounts from the Recovery Fund. In Term 4, we are budgeted to invest the final $310,500 of the Recovery Fund to assist 70 schools and LCCs. SU will have fully spent the allocated Recovery Fund by the end of 2021.
Camps
We are so excited to have recently wrapped up our Spring Camping season, with our Central North QLD team recording one of their highest ever intakes. In the last few weeks, 198 young people over the North Zone were able to experience and discover joy, meaning and purpose over the school holidays – such an amazing effort!
We also rounded up some broader camping statistics from the 2021 calendar year to share with you:
Since January, SU’s North and East Zone combined has held 67 camps, invested in the lives of 2,676 campers, and has recruited 1,100 volunteer leaders who’ve sacrificed money, time and energy to invest in the lives of our young people. These are such encouraging statistics, and we’re looking forward to seeing an even greater camping movement as we work closely with and learn from other SU teams around Australia.
As the weather really starts to warm up, we’re already deep-diving into planning our Summer holiday camps. You can keep an eye out for events near you on our website.
Exciting times ahead!
Department of Education Updates
I wanted to share with you some encouraging news from a Department of Education survey conducted earlier in the year. The stats came back saying that 86% of principals described their chaplaincy service as ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. This is a wonderful statistic, which I hope encourages you to know that you are valued and appreciated in schools. Keep up the great work!
We also wanted to let you know that the DoE has asked all chaplains to complete their e-safety training as close to the start of their service as possible. Please know this is training all chaplains need to do.
Upcoming events, training and cluster meetings
We’ve got a full calendar as we move towards the end of the year, and I wanted to update you on some things happening across our region.
Townsville is hosting a Thank-You BBQ event for LCCs and Supporters on 29 November, and there is going to be a series of In-Service Training for your chaplains in Term 4. Keep an eye out for more details from your Field Development Manager. These meetings will be happening in-person for the majority of chaplains, and online for those in rural communities.
There also are a series of cluster meetings that will be happening this term, facilitated by groups of chappies around the North Zone. These small groups get together to encourage one another in the work they do, and build a stronger team spirit of unity. I’m always encouraged to hear about these informal gatherings – I believe they’re essential to cultivating team culture and that’s what we’re all about up here in the North – people!
Fundraising
Thank you for all the dedicated hours and effort you’ve put into fundraising for your local chaplain and community. We really appreciate every aspect of your work – both things seen and unseen. As such, we wanted to let you know there is an Annual General Meeting (AGM) coming up in December, and some of you may want to come along to that. We’ll have more information for you closer to the date.
Updated Privacy Policy
One last thing to mention is an important update to our SU Australia privacy policy. Click here for more information on what this means for you.
That about sums it up for me. Thank you for your support and dedication. We really couldn’t do it without you!
God Bless,
Ian Cumming