By DANE LILLINGSTONE
NATHANIEL Leigh has done more charitable work than most of us will ever do in our lifetimes – and now he’s turning his attention to combatting ice.
At just 18, Nathaniel has already overseen the creation of a Christmas lunch for disadvantaged people. Now Nathaniel is nominated for a Pride of Australia medal in the Young Leader category for which he will attend a ceremony in October.
It all started in 2015 at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast.
“Our first year it started as a barbecue in a park for 15 disadvantaged local community members, which quickly grew to a Christmas lunch for 200,” he said.
“I’m a Christian so I believe that the Lord gave me the vision to start it, that’s why I probably started it.
“I knew at a young age that there are a lot of less fortunate people out there. I wanted to do my part to help.”
Already quite astute for an 18-year-old, Nathaniel has now joined the fight against ice.
“One of my friends was an ice addict for many years. She’s been clean since I’ve known her,” he said.
They met at the Palm Beach Christmas lunch last year and now they are working together.
The friend he met, Andrea Simmons, is now the director of the campaign. It’s called AAIC or the Australian Anti Ice Campaign and Nathaniel is here to spread the word to the Darling Downs.
“Ice is a growing issue. We needed to do something about it. We need to join forces with other organisations to be able to partner with them to move forward and fight the ice epidemic in Australia,” he said.
While also studying a Certificate III in Hospitality at TAFE, he is now the social media manager for the campaign.
“It’s less than 12 months old and they’re probably about five people so far. We are based mainly in the Gold Coast and in the process of a rollout to the rest of Australia,” he said.
“The program is educating high school students in Grade 8-12 about the devastating effects of ice. We have drug educators go in and present a 45-minute lesson about ice and meth prevention.
“We’ll be doing community forums and seminars in the local community. That’s where we can educate the parents.
“The problem at the moment is that’s its $20 per student to undertake this program. We need to be able to find someone to fund them to come out.
“I’ve spoken to the mayor. We’d like to partner with them to fight it and put Warwick on the map as doing something against this devastating drug.
“My advice to people who want to help their local community would be go out and do something that they’re proud of, go out and don’t let people tell them they’re not good enough. Just do it. Go out and do it. Show the world what you’re made of.”
You can find more information about the AAIC on their website www.australianantiicecampaign.com
