My name is Marc Simone; I am an ex preschool teacher, and now an IT professional in the Education space, supporting schools, with the complexities of the 21st Century classroom.
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I have two children, 12 and 13 years old, and together with my wife, we live in Winmalee NSW, a small town nestled among the Blue Mountains.
My children receive all the love, respect, fun, education and discipline needed in order to nurture them into respected citizens. With these basic but strong fundamentals they will be able to enjoy life as children should, and grow up to be part of a vibrant working community.
But what if children didn’t have a home or a roof over their heads, or supporting parents and role models?
What kind of love would they receive, what kind of education would they be having? What kind of future would they have to look forward to?
All strong questions, but who are these children?
On any given night in Australia 105,000 people are homeless.
They are not bums, they are human beings. Nearly half of these people are under the age of 25.
They are not truants or misfits, they are neglected. 26,000 are aged between 12 and 18.
They are children!
What causes homelessness?
o Physical, emotional or sexual abuse.
o Family and relationship breakdown with parents, siblings or extended family.
o Domestic violence
o Being kicked out or feeling unwanted at home
o Physical or mental illness
o Drug and alcohol abuse
o Gambling
o Grief or loss
o Not enough affordable housing
So, why am I telling you this?
Because I believe that even one child without a loving home and without basic education is too many in Australia.
Australia is one of the world’s strongest economies. We are a prosperous nation with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, yet youth homelessness is increasing. How does this make sense?
I want to make more people aware of this issue, so that we as a nation can work towards helping underprivileged children have a life to look forward to. I want to raise funds and donate them to the local ‘Mission Australia’.
What am I prepared to do to increase the awareness of youth homelessness?
Ride a bicycle from Springwood NSW in the Blue Mountains to Darwin. Launch date: April 10, 2013. I will cover approximately 4000 kilometres. I’m not a professional rider and have never been involved with a riding group of any sort. I will be sleeping in the outdoors. I plan to stop along the way at local schools to promote my cause and educate students on the importance of looking for help if things at home are not going well. I will urge students to continue to go to school, because education is the most powerful tool they could ever use.
I will use radio, newspapers, visit schools, and local communities in order to market my endeavour. and I can’t do this alone. I need your help.
My webpage for donations to Mission Australia: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/marcsimone - thank you.
My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Get.Kids.Off.The.Streets - become my Facebook mate.
My twitter account: https://twitter.com/marcsimone1969 - tweet me messages of support along my trip.
Please help me spread the word. Let your local community know of my endeavour. My aim is to raise $100,000.
Thank you for your support.
