STANDING Tall in Hamilton Inc., (STiH) an organisation dedicated to empowering young people to reach their full potential, has proudly announced it has more than doubled its community impact since expanding across the Southern Grampians Shire four years ago.

STiH said this progress is testament to the unwavering support of the community and the extension of its program to 16 school partners.

Since the 2021/22 financial year, the number of formal school partners has more than doubled, going from seven school partners to 16 school partners in 2023/24.

This has meant that Standing Tall in Hamilton Inc. has significantly increased its student mentoring capacity going from 32 students in 2021/22 to 84 students in 2023/24.

The demand for STiH’s mentoring programs is evident, with six students currently on the waitlist for the 2023/24 academic year, highlighting the growing need for services.

STiH’s success is built on the dedication of its volunteer mentors, whose numbers have continued to increase.

In 2021/22 there were 30 registered volunteer mentors. This number rose to 68 in 2022/23 and again in 2023/24 to 87.

The number of applications received was 12 in 2021/22 rising to 32 in 2023/24.

The number of mentoring sessions held, and the hours contributed by both volunteers and students have reached new heights going from 140 sessions and 550 volunteer hours in 2021/22 to 444 sessions and 869 volunteer hours in 2023/24.

The number of student hours contributed has also steadily increased going from 605 hours in 2021 to 720 hours in 2022/23 to a whopping 993 hours in 2023/24.

The impact of the work invested is best expressed by those directly involved – the students and volunteer mentors, and the parents/guardians of our students.

“It is great hanging out with someone so wise, who can teach me lots of interesting stuff,” said one student.

“Standing Tall has given me a new friend, someone with common interests,” said another.

STiH program manager, Dee Barrera said this was an incredible feat for a registered charity that does not receive any government funding to operate.

“We rely entirely on the generous donations from our community to continue our important work,” she said.

“Our incredible growth and the achievements of our students and team would not be possible without the collective effort and support of our entire community.

“We remain committed to fostering the potential of young people and look forward to continuing our impactful work with the support of our community.”

To make a donation to this worthy charity go to standingtallhamilton.com.au/make-a-donation.