The Road Spring 2020_online

ELLA’S GENEROSITY
ELLA YOUNG
Year 9 student Ella Young showed great generosity in times of
nationwide hardship after donating a $500 netball competition prize
to a victim of the January bushfires. A keen netball player of seven
years, Ella jumped at the opportunity when she saw her favourite
team, the Melbourne Vixens, hosting a competition on Instagram.
The competition involved sending in a creative video of a job that
entrants were doing outside during isolation.
Ella recounted how she decided to make a video of herself building
a fence to make it easier to get into a paddock at her house.
The main points of the video were showing
how I made the fence and adding in
some puns every now and then.
Ella won the competition with her entry and received a $500 prize
pack, courtesy of the Melbourne Vixen’s partner, Ozito.
Scrolling though Facebook shortly after receiving the prize, Ella
came across a post on the Melbourne Vixens Facebook page that
left a profound impact. It was a photo of a garden shed that had
burned down in the January bushfires posted by a fellow entrant in
the netball competition. Ella knew immediately her $500 prize was
not in the right place.
“Looking at the photo and seeing all of the devastation and ash
on the ground, with nothing left in the shed, it really made me feel
grateful for what I have,” she said. “I just hoped that the prize pack
would help them get their shed up and running once again.”
After receiving word of the selfless act, the Melbourne Vixens and
Ozito awarded Ella with a $250 prize pack for her great generosity,
accompanied by a personal video message from Vixens player
Emily Mannix.
Isolation also presented an opportunity for Ella to thrive in remote
learning. The Year 9 student reported producing steadier grades and
maintaining a higher quality of work.
“I think this happened because I had my own time to do my work,
which placed less stress and pressure on me,” she said.
This was not without its challenges, however. Ella missed the social
connection with her friends, which was worsened by the suspension
of most sporting competitions, including her netball.
“One of the hardest things in this pandemic is all the sport in my life
being gone,” she said.
Despite these difficulties, Ella continues to have a positive attitude
towards the situation.
“We are going to be a part of history,” she said. “We will come out
bigger and better on the other side.”
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