The Teens Take Control program is a teen mentoring program developed by Brenden and Antoinette Wilkins from Core Strength Fitness also based in Norval Court Maroochydore, and backed by Troy and Natasha Leviston from Plumbers Queensland, yet another Norval Court based business.

Yvette originally put the call out for a charity to support with her winnings on her social networks, and was inundated by suggestions of causes and charities to support. Whilst regularly attending Core Strength as her local gym, she heard about the Teens Take Control program.

The Teens Take Control program takes disadvantaged high school aged kids from local Sunshine Coast schools and helps teenagers to discover their true potential. It is offered absolutely FREE to a select number of kids per year, and one of the biggest outcomes of the program is assisting teenagers to build up their self-confidence.

“We know that raising children and young adults these days isn’t easy,” says Brenden Wilkins who is a father of three girls himself.

“Youth face challenges we never dreamed of before: unhealthy food, adult content and violence on TV, drugs in school, bullies, gangs, and predators on the internet. Too many of our young people here on the Coast — where we have a 40% full time unemployment rate straight out of school I might add – are painfully lacking in the confidence, focus, discipline and self-esteem required to becoming even moderately successful. Through the program we are trying to help them get back on track to having a successful and fulfilling life. The Teens Take Control program is only possible with the support of local businesses, so contributions from people like Yvette are very welcome, and very helpful. With her money we plan to buy a whole lot of new gear for our latest intake of teenage girls who are participating in our program.”

Yvette says she chose the Teens Take Control charity for a number of reasons.

“I knew I wanted to donate the money to something local, that would help many people and not just one, and that was a cause close to my heart. I had a pretty hard time in my late teen years and I was lucky that some very special people took me under their wing and put me back on the right track. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I’d be today to be honest. With this history, I’ve always had a pretty soft spot for helping out teens. It’s such a crucial time in their lives, and if someone or something can come along and make a difference to them at this time, it can change the course of their lives forever.”

Yvette says this donation is only the beginning of the support she plans to offer to the program, and she already has the next fundraiser for the cause in mind.

On Saturday 25 October, a creative hub will officially open in Norval Court encompassing a photography studio, a café, a beauty & make up salon, and fashion boutique; and as part of the event she has arranged an auction to take place, with all proceeds going towards Teens Take Control.

For more information about the Creative Hub launch see: www.studiorepublic.com.au/thelaunch.

Donations to Teens Take Control are welcome at any time to: https://www.teenstakecontrol.org/. Also see: https://www.facebook.com/teenstakecontrol.