Tweed Coast Weekly editor Tania Phillips is about to be put behind bars – but it’s all for a good cause.
Tania will join Tweed Councillor Warren Polglase, State Member for Tweed Geoff Provest and former Olympic swimmer Mike Wendon as part of a group of prominent local identities, who will be ‘doing time to keep kids out of crime’.
Time 4 Kids is being organised by the Tweed Heads PCYC and involves a simulated jail being set up at Tweed City Shopping Centre on Saturday, April 21, with community leaders being locked up and calling on friends and other contacts to ‘bail them out’.
The initiative is a community awareness and fundraising scheme PCYCs are conducting across NSW during Youth Week.
“I’m not good with vertical stripes,” Tania said surveying the uniform for the morning.
“But it’s a great cause and it’s great to be involved. I got to point and laugh at everyone else last year so it’s only fair they get to do the same to me.”
Tweed Heads PCYC Manager Mark Madden said the morning was a way of raising funds and awareness about PCYC’s and especially the local club which is now in its 21st year of operation.
“We greatly appreciate these prominent locals lending their support to what should be a fun few hours at Tweed City,” he said.
“The event, which is now in its third year here on the Tweed, allows us to draw people’s attention to the valuable work we do and assists us in generating funds to improve our services and facilities.”
“It costs us more than $600,000 a year to operate and the bulk of funds are generated locally by our club through user fees, grants, our weekly markets and fundraising schemes such as this.”
The Tweed Heads PCYC conducts a range of sporting, recreational, child care, educational and crime prevention services and has over 2,000 registered members ranging in age from 2 to over 80 years of age.
“We encourage locals to visit Tweed City on April 21 from 10.30 m – 12.30pm to see our special guest ‘detainees’ locked up and arranging ‘bail’.
Displays and information on PCYC activities will also be available during the morning. Individuals can make donations on the day or can contact the PCYC on 5599 1714.
