JACOB Elzo didn’t think twice about giving up his bedroom so someone else would have a place to sleep.
Now sharing a room with his three-year-old brother, the Hillside resident, 12, made way because he wanted his foster sister to have a room of her own.
“I wanted to make her comfortable and give her privacy to herself,” he says.
“Some kids aren’t as lucky as me and I reckon all children should have the right to feel safe at home.”
For his selflessness, Jacob was recently rewarded with a limousine ride across Melbourne with his dad and eight friends. He also visited Eureka Skydeck. The day out was part of the Creating Dreams program, a Salvation Army Westcare initiative which recognises the achievements of young people in Brimbank.
Program manager Ralph Salera says good deeds, like the one by Jacob, occur daily in the community, but usually go unnoticed.
The project, created in 2003, is funded by Westcare staff.
Earlier this year, two Brimbank students were rewarded for their commitment to their school work. Westcare employees purchased clothing for the two students to wear to their school formal, something they would not have been able to afford without the help of the Changing Dreams program.
Creating Dreams will launch a promotional DVD at the Sun Theatre, 8 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, at 6.30pm, Thursday. Tickets cost $30. Proceeds will go to rewards for young people. More details: creatingdreams.org.au or 9312 3544.
