Romy a stand-out citizen

By Bridget Brady
LIKE most teenagers, Romy Madeley leads a busy life.
After school she runs around to various co-curricular activities: basketball, tap, ballet, jazz and violin.
But in between all of that, the 13-year-old Hampton Park girl finds time after school each week to volunteer at Casey Kidz Club.
And now she has been named Casey’s Young Citizen of the Year.
Romy started attending Casey Kidz Club each Wednesday as part of a program at her school, Beaconhills College in Berwick.
She and her peers designed and took various art classes for the children with disabilities.
Romy found the children thrived at the chance to explore art, and said it had been a rewarding experience. “Some of the kids have amazing talents. One boy is really good at art and one boy can pick up any musical instrument and play,” she said.
The art work Romy helped the Casey Kidz Club children to produce was displayed at a public meeting last year to campaign for a special school to be built in the Casey and Cardinia region.
“It was really fulfilling and you felt like what you were doing was achieving something,” she said.
“There are so many kids in the City of Casey that have a disability and the only school they really have around the area is still far away and the schools are full.”
The teenager has also displayed leadership at her young age: She was appointed a student council representative at her school last year and this year is the performing arts captain for the middle school.
When her friend’s brother had leukaemia in March 2009, Romy decided to shave her hair in aid of Shave for a Cure, raising $1200.
Romy said she was surprised to win Casey’s Young Citizen of the Year award on Australia Day, and said she didn’t expect all the formalities.
“Mum hadn’t even brought the camera,” she said. “It was a really big shock.”