LOCAL LIFE
MAKE A DIFFERENCE : Marcus Campagna
by Lorna Gordon
Our younger community members are often overlooked when it comes to giving out the recognition they deserve for giving back to others . We see our young high achievers in sports and academics get praise for their work , but not always the people behind the scenes volunteering or fund raising . Marcus Campagna is a student at Oakhill College and has been giving back for several years . He began doing charity work and volunteering as part of his Duke of Edinburgh award , which he started in Year 8 and recently received his gold award for .
“ I originally started because of Duke of Edinburgh , you have to do something to develop your skills , voluntary service and physical recreation . I wasn ’ t sure what to do for service and when I discussed it with my mum , we decided I could start doing charity based work for it .”
For his charity work Marcus has done a number of different projects to give back including helping Bear Cottage and Westmead ’ s Children ’ s Hospital . However , his work with local charity , Ward Angels made an impact on him .
“ We have made up our own gift packs and fund raised to get money for Ward Angels . It was rewarding to hand things out at the hospital so the children could give a small gift to their mums on Mother ’ s Day .”
Duke of Edinburgh takes a number of years to complete and as part of their adventure section Marcus and his school friends went hiking and camping and were fortunate to go to India to work on a project there and help out school children who live in poverty . Out of all the activities he has done he said hiking up Mount Kosciuszko was his favourite .
“ Overall , the camping was my favourite , especially hiking up Mount Kosciusko , the banter in the group was what helped to push each other to finish when it was freezing and windy . We were all struggling , and we had to rely on each other to push through . I think we all become closer to the teachers and each other because of it .”
Along with his charity work , Marcus has been involved in helping out at his school , he was a Youth Leader , a representative on the Student Representative Council and has worked with the school soccer team . He ’ s taken a step back this year to focus on his HSC studies , but still finds time to help out when an extra pair of hands are needed . Because of all his work for the community , Marcus was nominated to be the Hills Shire Young Citizen of the Year at the Australia Day awards and received their Highly Commended award .
When I asked Marcus what he thought other young people could do to get involved in the community he has some sage advice for someone of his age .
“ You don ’ t have to go big or do something extravagant , every dollar goes towards something . You can take little steps to building towards the greater good , even just being kind to people who need a helping hand . If you want to do voluntary work , find a charity you are interested in or ask at your school and try to find something you can help with .”
Marcus was presented his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award by her excellency Margaret Beazley , Governor of NSW .
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THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 107 // MAY 2024 11