School Chaplain Darra State School - Chloe Joy (2019)

“I spoke to the acting manager at our local Woolworths and explained to her the Radiance program & what we needed; not expecting her to actually offer it all for free. She actually offered to sponsor it as she really loved what the program was all about, and so each week she’d ask what I needed. Sometimes I didn’t need anything. It meant that the girls didn’t have to pay for anything; the graduation lunch was absolutely beautiful and the girls were in shock, saying they feel like they’re at a wedding!”

School Chaplain Kuranda District State College - Deborah Bromley (Dec, 2019)

“I have run the program this year at my school up in the rainforest in Kuranda, with a small group of year 10 girls. They absolutely loved it  - we run 2 sessions a term, so the program ends up running across the whole year as part of the HPE curriculum. We finished the program last week with a morning tea out at a local cafe where we talked about plans and dreams and recapped highlights of the program (it's always hard to top session1 with the roses!!).”

Kiara Matthews, 2016.

Kiara Completed Radiance in 2013 when she was in grade 9.

“It’s not a program you want to do; it’s a program you need to do.”

 “Every girl can wake up and put on makeup and laugh and smile and joke but deep down there’s that sadness and negativity.”

“Radiance is a safe haven. It’s like a sisterhood. I’m not close to my sister, but each week these girls in my group began to feel like sisters. The people you are in there with bond together. It was like a sleepover during the day. Chats about makeup, boys, friends and love. When you step out of the room reality kicks in, but it makes you look at life with a different perspective.

“It opens doors for you. It’s like the one light in a dark place.”

“I learnt that the foods I eat impact how I feel”

“There were people in the group who weren’t all the prettiest or the most popular, but putting everyone together makes the perfect team. Everyone works together and uses their different strengths and weaknesses.”

“For me as a Christian, God wasn’t directly spoken but it was there if you wanted to take it. You could see it in the leaders. ”

 “Having done Radiance I am more aware of my surroundings in year 12 and not getting caught in the dramas of year 12. It’s given me tools to be more self-aware.”

“Being a teenager you’re dealing with friendships, boys, parents and your own personal insecurities. In Radiance I learnt a way to express myself in a better form. I learnt I can be better and can be a leader in my own right. Radiance taught me how to use my strengths.

“It impacted everything especially my friends. I realised I had a choice that I could choose the friends that were best for me.”

“Everything that happened in Radiance makes you better in the long run. You will go through trials and tribulations but it gives you all the necessary things to deal with life, parents and friends.