SCHOOL VOLUNTEERING PROGRAM

 Students develop character, compassion and gratitude through:

- seeing how vulnerable parts of our community live, engendering empathy and reducing entitlement

- learning about two key modern societal issues - homelessness and plastic waste

- learning practical weaving and fine motor skills

Students also experience the mental health benefits of giving to others and connecting with their community.

The running order of the day is typically:

• Introduction, the Who/What/Why of Nest, key facts about homelessness and plastic waste in Australia, and how the staff will be positively impacting these issues during the workshop
• Forming teams to circulate around the following activities:
• Cutting, stripping and joining the plastic bags to make plastic yarn
• Weaving the sleeping mats on the loom
• Sewing and waterproofing sleeping bags from recycled tarp (optional)
• Sewing sleeping bag inners from recycled fabric (optional)
• Wrapup and summary of learning points
• POST WORKSHOP: Nest sends a followup to the school outlining exactly to whom their sleeping mats went, and where possible some personal stories of the lives they touched.

WE ARE FLEXIBLE and can tailor programs to suit the length of time you have available.  Our two most popular styles of workshops are:

1. MAKING A SLEEPING MAT (4hrs) - this is by far the most popular, as students get to complete an entire sleeping mat in the timeframe. This is far more impactful and has longer lasting learning opportunities. Students acquire the full set of skills that they can then take back to the wider school cohort by teaching other students, holding volunteering circles as part of Service Learning, Duke of Edinburgh volunteering hours and much more. 

2. A MINI "TASTER" OF THE PROGRAM (90mins) - we can also run 90min sessions where students get a 'taste' of the experience, but don't produce full sleeping mats during the timeframe. The opportunity for learning/discussions around homelessness and plastic waste are much more limited, however the Taster Session is a good option for schools who would just like a shorter Nest activity as part of a wider Social Justice day.

Workshop costs are:

Onsite at your school: $30 per student
An immersive experience where the workshop is held offsite on the premises of one of our Homeless Service Partners can also be arranged. An extra charge for the venue hire applies for this.

 
*Our charity does not currently charge GST.

 YES. Your workshop fee is fully tax deductible as Nest is an ACNC registered charity with DGR tax status (MAKE A NEST LTD, ABN 26 667 860 764).

INCLUDED:

• All equipment (weaving looms and tools)
• Plastic bags (we encourage students to bring waste plastic bags in from friends and family for the session, as we love to extract as much plastic waste from   the environment as possible. Each person will need approx 100 bags, so we also have thousands of recycled bags which have been donated to us which we can bring along to supplement on the day.
• Structured workshop session to guide students through the weaving process, answer     questions and share stories/ information about Australia's homelessness and plastic      waste issues, and how the students are making a real difference during the workshop
• Certificate of Impact and shareable social media files you can use to share your good work and proudly display the student's commitment to social justice and giving back.

We are extremely grateful for the time your students are giving up to help us and we can understand this question. Our workshops are a key fundraising initiative for our charity, without which we couldn't do the good we do in the community. We respect that you have many options for where to invest your Student Volunteering/Service Learning dollar, so we strive to make our workshops a win-win for the students as well as for the charity. 

We hope that the following gains represent value which befits the cost of the experience:

• The positive mental wellbeing effects on the students after our workshops are palpable
• The community holds great respect for schools who value the importance of teaching students to give back to vulnerable members of the community, raising the profile and social standing of the school
• Involvement in this waste reduction initiative is a great way to publicly demonstrate the school's commitment to the environment and sustainability

This investment in us means we can continue and expand our impact. We hope you see this as a fair exchange of value, and enjoy the experience as much as we do.

 100% of the workshop fee goes straight to the charity.  The trainer (Julie Tattam) is a volunteer and does not charge for her time.

Maximum class size is 30 students.
Our preferred minimum class size is 20 students.*
*This preferred minimum helps us ensure we maximise our benefit to the homeless community by
 focussing on classes where a cost-efficient number of mats will be made during the session.
 However we are flexible and happy to discuss smaller numbers.

 We offer the following repeat booking incentives:   

• 5% discount on all repeat workshop bookings for your school
• $50 VISA gift voucher (FBT exempt) if you refer Nest to another school which results in a confirmed workshop booking.
   

All we need is: 

• a room that holds the size of your group, seated on chairs, with a small space around each person to stack plastic bags and set up a small loom (20cm x 70cm) loom. 
• At least 1 chair per person plus 2 extra chairs 
• Ideally 3 tables (approx. size of trestle tables) 
• Nice-to-haves but not essential: Whiteboard and markers
   

 Yes absolutely. We have done this with great success in the past. It is particularly useful for regional  and interstate schools. Zoom workshops enjoy a 10% discount off the cost of in-person workshops.

We travel all over the Sydney Metropolitan area for the above fee. We are very happy to do regional or interstate workshops however the travel expenses would be born by the school. We are also very happy to run our workshops via Zoom.
 

 We encourage students to bring in as many bags as possible from home (to extract the maximum waste from the environment as possible). Each student needs approx 100 plastic bags on the day, so Nest has a large amount of donated plastic bags in stock that we can bring along to supplement on the day.

Yes this can be a really impactful addition to the event.
 

We ask that you pay by Direct Deposit. In exceptional circumstances we can accept credit card payments via Paypal. An 8% surcharge is incurred to cover fees and handling for all credit card payments.
 

 We also run School Sleepout events. Talk to us about how we can tailor this experience for you.

Please contact us to look at availabilities and select a date.
 

A 50% deposit is required to secure the workshop date (invoice will be sent once your date is selected). The remaining balance is invoiced upon completion of the workshop.