Colleen Downie happily juggles motherhood, full-time work and a host of volunteering gigs each week. 91685 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By NATALIE GALLENTI
COLLEEN Downie is a real-life super woman- but don’t let her hear you say that.
The Melton mother-of-four juggles her children, working six nights a week and a myriad of volunteering gigs and does it all with a smile.
Her list of voluntary work includes being the vice president of the Saints basketball team for the past four years and working on the school board and fundraising committee at St Dominic’s Primary School.
But what is closest to Colleen’s heart is the work she does at The Gap, a recreational facility for Melton’s disadvantaged youth.
For the past year Colleen has spent every Friday night volunteering at The Gap and overseeing more than 100 youths who visit the centre to listen to music, use the wii or playstation, play pool, ping pong and basketball, eat at the café or just “hang out”.
The night is open to young adults from 12 to 24-years-old and designed to get them off the streets and into a safe and comfortable environment.
“I just look at the fact that my family is so lucky and you just hope every other kid could be so lucky, but they’re not,” Colleen told Star.
“It’s about making a difference, not just for the kids, but for Melton. It’s about making a better Melton. My kids will never use this place because they don’t need to, but having these kids in here makes Melton a safer place for everyone.”
Colleen also hosts a girl’s night every Wednesday and said she hopes to change the attitude of young females in the area.
“We’re telling the girls that there’s a better way to live than the way they are. Number one is a lonely place to be.
“We’re not going to change their lives, all we hope to do is influence them. All we’re here for is to be there for them, we aren’t counsellors, but we can be like a parent.”
And the hard-working mum has no plans to give up.
“You don’t have to have the time to volunteer, you have to have the passion.”
