On the second Sports Day for the year, Year 11 students Amareet Chatha, Olivia De Silva, Greta Douglas, Tanvi Gupta, Danika Hughes, Isla Malthus, Katelyn McSween, Tvisha Patel, Lakshmi Purushothaman, Ruby Tam and myself travelled to Pizzey Park to volunteer at the annual Gold Coast Recreation and Sport Trec for Rec Day for people with disabilities.
When we arrived there, we were greeted with an array of colours and different stalls, along with many friendly and beautiful people who were taking part in the 5km or 10km Trec for Rec run. Together, we set up a tent by one of the stalls and donned flower necklaces and snap bracelets to cheer the participants when the race was ongoing. While we were waiting for the running event to commence, we had the lucky opportunity of taking some pictures with a mascot from the neighbouring rugby league. We were then briefed and allocated to different volunteering stations, some of us managed the water stations, some of us ran along with the participants and I stood at the finish line to help mark participants landyard tags to indicate how many laps they had completed whilst cheering them on.
When the race commenced, a whole crowd of participants dashed across, some in wheelchairs and some with support, but all having a huge, excited smile on their faces. My friends and I cheered them on as they completed lap after lap, amazed and in awe of their resilience and enthusiasm which made my day even better. In between, I also passed several of the flower necklaces I had to participants, and their faces lightened up with happiness before carrying on with the race. The wholesome and joyous atmosphere truly made this experience memorable and worth remembering. As the running event came to a close, we dispersed to visit the different stalls available, racing in the mini inflatable obstacle course, taking photos in the mini photo booth and having a chat with some of the participants.
We were devastated to leave the event when the time had come to return to school, we waved a sad farewell to the organisers and participants and made our way back to school.
This was by far one of the most unforgettable and meaningful volunteering experiences I had ever been a part of as it truly embodied the spirit of helping others despite their background and engaging with incredible people and their stories beyond school grounds, ultimately giving back to the community we cherish and love.
On behalf of my fellow peers and I, we would like to thank Mrs Stevens and Mr Obst for providing us with this amazing volunteering opportunity and for making this an enjoyable experience!
Marion Khoo
Year 11 Student