Thousand Faces Camp September 2022 – ran by REACH.
This is the second year we’ve encouraged our team members to attend the Thousand Faces Camp ran by REACH. An experience of personal development that aims to transform the way you approach life & relationships, while giving back & supporting the next generation of young Australian leaders.
From 9-11 September 2022, Jamie Irwin-Smith was the 6th Highview team member encouraged to attend the REACH Thousand Faces Camp ‘to shake things up’ & make a positive impact on the lives of young people. At Thousand Faces Camp, a safe space is created for 13-17 year old youths to chat, connect, build friendships, challenge assumptions & think about things in a different way – & to have fun! Jamie was given the opportunity to volunteer his time to mentor & connect with youths, helping these young Australians through a facilitated program to begin realising their potential. By enabling Jamie to attend, in turn, we funded a young Australian to attend this life changing experience.
Jamie relays his experience, “The bonds formed with both adults & teenagers through activities & stories in such a short time was incredible. Watching the progression of my buddy go from a very quiet, reserved person on day one to a confident, vibrant member of the group who let his walls down & spoke his story in front of the group by camps end was simply incredible. I was so proud of the strength & courage he displayed (I imagine this is the feeling you get as a parent when you’re child achieves something amazing).
My main takeaways were:
- I truly believe & understand that everyone’s trials & challenges in life are equal in weight no matter how they may seem to outsiders.
- Dropping your metaphorical mask & allowing your vulnerabilities to shine is what makes us our authentic selves.
- Age is no barrier in some of the challenges we face – they are eerily similar when publicly voiced.
Jamie summed up his trip with these wonderful heartfelt words – “I feel like I’ve left the camp a more empathetic, trusting, open & overall more complete version of myself. From my conversations with my campmates, they all felt the same. This camp challenges your perceptions & takes you on an emotional roller-coaster, but also creates one of the most caring, wholesome & rewarding experiences I’ve experienced in my life. I couldn’t recommend this camp highly enough for anyone wanting to experience a journey of self-development!”
Highview continues to encourage team members each year to attend these camps. The personal development benefits are just so overwhelmingly positive. For our business to offer this to our team & at the same time we get to financially support young people to be able to attend, it’s a no brainer for Highview & lines up with our core values as a business.
To read more about the camp & get a feel for Jamie’s experience over this life changing weekend check out the REACH website here.
Highview has formed a formal Partnership with REACH & we look forward to sharing our team’s experiences with everyone throughout the year, as well as working hard to raise much needed funds for this incredible organisation striving to develop the social & emotional wellbeing of young Australians.
Special note: Thank you to Jamie for sharing his personal experiences so openly with us all!