Hundreds of Year 12 students in Bathurst will be better prepared for their upcoming exams, with access to free HSC survival kits made available by youth mental health foundation, headspace.

Thanks to a generous donation of items worth $3,000 from not-for-profit organisation VERTO, and contributions from other community organisations, including Lifeline Central West, 500 kits will be distributed to youth throughout October.

The survival kits, which are the brainchild of the headspace Bathurst Youth Reference Group, consist of a HSC calendar, note pads, pens, highlighters and other necessary stationary.

VERTO CEO Ron Maxwell said studying and preparing for exams was a stressful time for teenagers, and the organisation wanted to ensure the students had one less thing to worry about.

“Bathurst students have already had to deal with enough this year, having their final years of school significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, so we wanted to contribute to a wonderful project that will make life a little easier for hundreds of local students,” he said.

“At VERTO, we pride ourselves positively transforming the lives of individuals, families and our local communities every day, and we see this donation to these students, who are our future, as another way we can achieve this mission.”

Community Engagement Officer for headspace Bathurst, Jake Byrne, welcomed VERTO’s donation and said, “At headspace, we are so incredibly fortunate to have the support from local organisations such as VERTO that continue to go above and beyond in their efforts to support our local community,” he said.

“Year 12 students across the state have shown great resilience in managing their studies during this pandemic, and it is very encouraging to see local organisations come together to try and make life easier for our local students in this crucial part of their studies.”