New Schools Ambassador Movement to mobilise emerging generation
The Salvation Army’s Oasis School Liaison Officer, Bee Orsini. (Photo courtesy of Bee Orsini)
In April 2012, the The salvation Army’s Oasis Youth Foundation hosted a stall at a Sydney high school fair. Yet when teachers gave students a quiz to complete and asked, “which organisation runs the Red Shield Appeal?” students had trouble answering the question.
According to Oasis school liaison officer Bianca “Bee” Orsini, this lack of real understanding, coupled with a need to engage the school-aged generation to partner with the Army to work towards social change, was the driving force behind the new Salvos Ambassador Movement (SAM).
The ambitious mission of SAM is “To see Salvos ambassadors within every secondary school across Australia who fight for the freedom of their peers, community and nation out of social injustice; advocate for The Salvation Army and keep our mission relevant, engaging and youth focused; grow others and themselves as future leaders and change makers of Australia.”
Youth homelessness will be the central issue that SAM addresses because, as Bee explains, it sits as an umbrella issue for many youth concerns.
“In 20 years of economic prosperity, Australia saw teenage homelessness double to 22,000, with the biggest cause of homelessness stated by young people to be family breakdown,” she says. “Research shows us family conflict and trauma is a top three concern for young Australians.”
SAM is a partnership between Oasis and the Army’s MORE Territorial Youth Team. Matt Gluyas, who works with the youth team, says that although The Salvation Army is one of the most trusted brands in Australia, recent market research paints a worrying picture. The Quantum research shows that while many in the Generation Y demographic see The Salvation Army as “trustworthy”, they also consider it to be “conservative”, “older” and not necessarily relevant to their lives or passions.
Matt says it is hoped that SAM will act as a bridge between younger Australians and the Army. “Through SAM, we aim to see youth familiar with The Salvation Army, advising, guiding and giving feedback to the Army, engaging with their school and community and being supported to grow as leaders in order to inspire, motivate and challenge their generation to become a unified voice against social injustice,” he says.
Planning is underway to launch SAM in NSW in 2013, and then continue expansion throughout the Army’s Australia Eastern Territory in 2014.
The initial aim – which includes a strong commitment to collaborate with Salvation Army management , staff and corps - is to have a number of targeted mission hub/corps areas launching the program. Around 25 ambassadors will be engaged in training, advocacy, campaigning, fundraising and volunteering.
Bee says that although Oasis-branded resources, in conjunction with Caledonia Foundation support, have previously been sent to almost 3000 secondary schools, SAM is the next step as “we still have a long way to go in supporting schools to embrace the issue of youth homelessness and their community”.
Most importantly, Bee says, as she and Matt wrote at the end of the original SAM proposal, “In our mission to live as genuine disciples – risky, edgy, people for Christ – we must be committed and innovative in our response to the needs of our nation’s youth and embrace schools as part of the foundation to create change!”
Anyone in The Salvation Army who is interested in getting involved can contact SAM at: salvosambassadors@aue.salvationarmy.org
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