When you ask Australian TV presenter Tracey Spicer who her role model is, it doesn’t take her long to answer.
“My dear mum… beautiful, bold and bolshie. I miss her every day,” she says.
Tracey’s mum Marcia died of pancreatic cancer in 1999; a devoted wife, loving mother, a feminist before her time and someone who gave Tracey the greatest mentoring advice.
Taking that advice on board, Tracey has signed up as an ambassador for Step Up For Sisterhood Day this Friday, December 6, which raises money towards a 12-month mentoring program, the SISTER2sister program, that helps vulnerable teenage girls feel empowered and make their own positive life choices.
Like Tracey, 28 per cent of the young people who come through the doors of the program have a family with a terminal illness, while 42 per cent have suffered a major loss.
Apart from offering mentors, the program aims to recognise neglect and child abuse as a growing concern in Australia, with more than 30,000 Australian children abused or neglected last year alone.
While Tracey grew up in a loving family, she has witnessed the hardship some young women go through firsthand.
The 46-year-old grew up in Redcliffe, Queensland, which is now a “lovely, gentrified village” but was once a very low socio-economic area Tracey describes as “quite rough.”
“Mum and Dad were always trying to help others, especially young people who’d ‘gone off the rails’. They took in several of our schoolmates when they fell on hard times,” Tracey says.
Her parents regularly took in teens, including some that would self-harm, which is a continuing issue among young women today, with 41 per cent of SISTER2sister participants currently inflicting harm onto themselves.
“I remember one friend of my sister’s was self-harming, scarring herself on the chest with a broken clothes hanger. It was terribly sad,” she said.
“But it was wonderful to see the transformation in the lives of these young teenagers after staying in a stable family home for a period of time.”
It was Tracey’s experience in her own home with the love and support of her incredible parents that inspired her to get involved in mentoring young women.
“That’s one of the reasons why I’m a big fan of mentoring, in particular, Step Up For Sisterhood Day. Sometimes kids just need a different role model. It’s the same for adults!” she says.
When Tracey began working in the Australian media as a journalist, she felt that her need for a strong female mentor grew even more.
She believes mentors are of the utmost importance for young women and was inspired to start her own mentoring business.
“I started Women in Media – a mentoring and networking group – in conjunction with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and the Walkley Foundation,” she explains.
“We have the perfect patron in the ABC’s Caroline Jones, and a tremendous, hard-working committee from across all mediums. We aim to help young and mid-career women to reach the next level in their careers.
“Too many women drop out of the media, because of structural discrimination. Giving these women a mentor who has faced similar challenges will be immensely powerful.”
This Friday, December 6, marks Step Up For Sisterhood Day and all women are being asked to kick off their casual work shoes and wear their favourite stilettos to work in exchange for a gold coin donation.
To get involved in #stepupforsisterhoodday visit their www.stepupforsisterhood.org.au and wear your favourite heels to work on Friday!
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