Welcome to Dear Cris
Connecting Rural, Regional and International Students
Ashley Eadon
Meet the team
What We Do
Inspire and Engage
Engagement
The pilot program ran successfully early 2018; it saw 120 students from Australia and the Philippines exchange over 400 letters. The children wrote about themselves, their town and the country, while simultaneously improving their literacy skills.
Youth Facilitators
On a fortnightly basis in Australian schools our Youth Facilitators go into our partner schools to aid in the facilitation of the letter writing
Funded by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
About Us
Dear Cris is an abbreviation for Connecting Rural, Regional and International Students. The program was founded by six young people in 2017 as an initiative of the Heywire Program. Today Dear Cris is run in partnership with YoBendigo and is funded by the Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal. It is led by a committed and passionate team of young people. Dear Cris aims to connect students nationally and globally with pen pals so they can share personal experiences and consider domestic and international issues.
Founders at Parliament House:
Yongyan Xia (Grenfell, NSW), Ashley Eadon (Woodend, VIC), Navneet Bhatha (Swan Hill, VIC), Connor May (Merimbula, NSW), Josephine Bond (St Helens Plains, VIC), Brooke Farrelly (Penguin, TAS)
Misson and Values
To expand the borders of young minds through handwritten communication
We value education, respect, diversity and teamwork