Grovedale College has won a major award for its support of an annual genU event aimed at building community inclusion and breaking down barriers for people with disability. 

The Geelong-based college won the 2024 Outstanding School and Community Partnership Award category in the 2024 Victorian School Sports Award for its significant involvement in the annual Workplace Big Day Out. The Big Day Out brings together volunteers from the local business sector and people with disability for a fun day of activities, companionship and community. 

Since 2016, Grovedale College students have been involved at the Big Day Out, facilitating the warm-up, organising equipment, and running activities, including wheelchair basketball, soccer, dodgeball and dancing. Check out all the fun in our image gallery below!

genU CEO Clare Amies congratulated Grovedale College for the richly deserved recognition and praised the school’s leadership for acknowledging the important role inclusion plays in the local community. 

“The annual commitment from the college and students to support our Workplace Big Day Out makes such a positive difference to this important event,” Clare said. 

“The students are genuinely engaged, enjoy being involved, take the lead in running activities and make strong connections with our clients in the most meaningful way. 

“We appreciate their input to create a fully supported environment and embracing the opportunity for personal growth.”

Grovedale College principal Janet Matthews said achieving this award recognised Grovedale College’s values of Community, Respect, Achieve. 

“I am immensely proud of our staff and student involvement in the Big Day Out events and our College highly values our ongoing partnership with genU,” Ms Matthews said.

“Our students gain so much from their involvement in the Big Day Out event each year and it allows such a wonderful opportunity for them to contribute to positivity in our community.” 

On reflection, students described the 2024 Big Day Out experience as “emotional”, “fulfilling” and “amazing”. Student feedback also demonstrated a profound impact from being involved:

“Throughout the day it was hard to not be smiling ear to ear, it is the most heart-warming experience I have assisted with.” 

“The highlights of my day included getting out of my comfort zone to have a laugh, high five, talk to the clients, staff and volunteers to make them have as much fun as possible.” 

“My highlight for the day was when clients would approach me and remember my name from last year's Big Day Out event. It made me realise how much of an impression our school has made at the year prior’s event, which meant a lot to me.” (See more reflections below.)

Harcourts North Geelong Director Joe Grgic said everyone involved in the Workplace Big Day Out gained multiple benefits from an overwhelmingly positive and rewarding experience.

Mr Grgic said Harcourts North Geelong had proudly supported genU since 2016 and called on colleagues to volunteer and make the 2025 Big Day Out the biggest event yet.

“We wholeheartedly encourage other Geelong businesses to join us in this effort to build a stronger community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive," he said.

Interested in your business being part of genU’s 2025 Workplace Big Day Out? Please email Joanne Forssman at joanne.forssman@genu.org.au to find out how you can be involved.

Student reflections

“I realised that not all disabilities have to be visible to the naked eye to be there. It was a very emotional day and I’ve learnt a lot from my experience.”

“As part of the 2024 GenU Big Day out I was lucky enough to be allocated to a team leader position where I stayed with the same group for the entire day. I was very grateful for this position as I was able to form meaningful connections with each of the clients, careers and volunteers. Within the day us students were faced with issues including mobility troubles where some could not completely participate due to a wheelchair etc. There were participants within the group that did not want to join in and we encouraged them to join in where a few then discovered a new-found love of new sports such as cornhole or soccer. Throughout the day it was hard to not be smiling ear to ear, it is the most heart-warming experience I have assisted with. Not only were we proud of the clients, they became proud of themself with the endless amount of encouragement they received from Grovedale college students. Everyone that attended left AWA stadium with a full belly, full hearts and a positive experience. It was an amazing day and thank you to teacher and companies that made this experience possible!”

“My role during the day was to help run Cornhole. It was a great experience to see the clients get excited when they scored to some clients even getting three beanbags in and remembering for the whole day and boasting to everyone about it! It was a great day to be a part of and I wouldn’t change how it went for the world.”

“A challenge I faced on the day was one of the clients was in a wheelchair and didn’t have the strength to hold the parachute so I went over and I pulled the parachute closer to her so she was able to hold on.  Something I realised on the day was to see the person before the disability, and this impacted me on how we all deserve to be happy no matter what we might be experiencing.”

“My role on the day was one of the dance group members. I really enjoyed the day and it was a great opportunity for us to be part of. The highlight was being able to interact with a range of different people with different abilities. Some challenges faced are having a different range of abilities to adapt to. However, this taught us how to change things to suit everyone's needs and to treat everyone the same. The day had a huge impact on me - being able to be part of a program like that was phenomenal.”

“The GenU Big Day Out event was one of the highlights of my school experiences. I gained great connections with the GenU clients and the corporate staff that assisted in the day, the many smiles and laughs that were shared amongst the clients and helpers will forever be remembered. One of the clients was even better at Cornhole than me! The activities that were run on the day involved all abilities and skill levels that made the day even more inclusive. It was difficult to engage some clients but when they did, they had the best time and never wanted to leave. I am deeply grateful that I had the opportunity to be involved in the Big Day Out. I would highly encourage the future Sports Academy students to be a part of such an amazing and fulfilling experience.”

“My role was helping the dodgeball activity. A highlight of the day was seeing all the smiles on everyone's faces during the day. The challenge I faced was when we had a group where no-one could throw a ball which is a challenge for dodgeball. Something I realised on the day is how much of an impact the GenU Big Day Out has on people and how people get so pumped for it.”

“My highlight for the day was when clients would approach me and remember my name from last year's Big Day Out event. It made me realise how much of an impression our school has made at the year prior’s event, which meant a lot to me. One of the challenges of the day was catering to the different needs of clients based on their disability, as some were in wheelchairs, and were only limited to certain actions. However, seeing most clients still get involved in some shape or form, brought a smile to my face as it allowed me to see how much they were enjoying it. Being involved on the Big Day Out twice now is something I am truly grateful for, and is an experience I will not forget. I look forward to hearing the amazing stories about next year's event.”

“The highlight of the day was getting to work with people with a wide variety of abilities. The challenges I faced during the day were adjusting the way I talked to the group and the way I explained the activity so everyone knew what was going on. Something I learnt on the day is people are different and sometimes harder to communicate with than others, but everyone can do it. It impacted me because I had to think of what to say and how to explain it to the people, so if some had a hard time, they would know what is going on.”

“At the GenU event, I was running the dodgeball event for the day. Some of the highlights from the Big Day Out was connecting with all of the participants, making their days with laughter and joy. The impact it had on me was I developed a better knowledge of GenU had how to work with the clients.”

“The GenU Big Day Out was a great and insightful experience. As a team leader, I stayed with a particular group made up of clients, corporate volunteers and carers. I had the amazing opportunity to really get to know my group throughout the day, doing all the activities such as dodgeball, netball and wheelchair basketball. Lots of times throughout the day I was able to meet many different people, whether it was clients or corporate volunteers all the way from Melbourne.  It was an invaluable experience that allowed me to meet and interact with people I never have before, and reminded us all to embrace everyone no matter who they are!”

“Being a part of this day was a memory to never forget. Being a team leader was good as I was able to connect with a group of people all day. The day overall was planned very well and enjoyable. Challenges I faced were trying to get everyone joined in and stay engaged.”

“My role for the day was running the Ten Pin bowling. My highlight of the day was watching how happy the clients were after getting a strike. We had one participant who was bowling from full court and still knocking them down. He was very happy with himself and put a smile on everyone around him. Some additional challenges I faced through the day was how dealing with all different abilities came with different approaches.  Most important thing I learnt on the day was that everyone came for some fun, so to join in with that, and to be a part of it. Not to stand back just in my comfort zone but to get out and make it something people can really enjoy.”