By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
HELPING others comes as second nature to Eric Wieckmann, who has dedicated much of his life to it.
As founder and CEO of Christians Helping in Primary Schools (CHIPS), Mr Wieckmann and the group’s volunteers have been assisting kids feel confident within the community for over a decade.
While the Berwick-based CHIPS helps all young kids, there is a focus put on those who may be in need of help but don’t know quite to ask for it at such a young age.
“The bottom line is that we’re totally committed to valuing children in the community,” he said.
“The more community support you have in your life when things are going bad, the easier it is to deal with it.”
CHIPS has more than 350 volunteers who share their time between 60 different schools. These volunteers set up a range of different programs, depending on what the students need, including mentoring, science clubs and even outdoor camps.
Mr Wieckmann said it was pivotal for the children to be shown the positive side to every situation.
“What we say to these kids is that they’re not a victim but a hero,” he said.
“Even heroes go through tragedy.”
This week, Mr Wieckmann will be speaking in detail about what CHIPS do and their vision for the future as part of the Bendigo Bank Community Corner program. This initiative was set up by Berwick Branch manager Gabriella Butler as a means for organisations, like CHIPS, to showcase what they do and how they contribute to the community.
“I see Bendigo Bank as the conduit between the bank, the customers and the community,” she said.
“The community corner is not restricted to customers only, in fact we welcome new not-for-profit organisations and really look at targeting the groups that find it difficult to get awareness in our local community.”
For more information on CHIPS, visit www.chips.org.au or contact 9702 5528. And for more information on the community corner initiative, visit www.facebook.com/BerwickBranch or contact 9707 1365.
