Daniel Russell - Youth Pastor at Highway Church Ormeau sharing the work they are doing to make a difference in engaging with youth.
It was our privilege and indeed an enlightening experience to have Daniel Russell as our guest speaker for The Rotary Club of Ormeau – Pimpama dinner meeting at the Pimpama Tavern on 21 March 2023. Daniel is a youth Pastor at the Highway Church and has spearheaded the Hilltop Weekend event they have successfully held. The weekend was a great success with hundreds of teenagers making connections with the community being built.In 2022, one of the highlights of the weekend was the fact that the school chaplains from Ormeau Woods, Livingstone, Pimpama Secondary College and Lords made connections with the students in the Hotspot Zone. The free event, sponsored by Councillor Mark Hammel and Bendigo Bank, not only shocked teenagers but parents alike, many saying they had never been to a place like it. Hilltop Hotspot is a space specifically designed for teenagers to connect with friendly faces and professionals in the field providing advice on the mental health services available to the them. This was a great show of unity in the fight against the mental health pandemic, and is an ongoing program.Another initiative that Volunteers from Hilltop run each week is providing breakfast across 4 schools in the district on a Friday morning – providing pancakes to the delight of the teenagers. This involves preparing and serving some 48,000 pancakes over the school year. If anyone can volunteer their services to assist at a breakfast held each Friday please contact The Rotary Club of Ormeau- Pimpama on 0432 065 027.
