At just 12 years old, Jack Triffitt from Gagebrook has a charisma that grabs you straight away. He attended East Derwent Primary School and has started high school this year at Jordan River Learning Federation – Senior School (JRLF-SS).

Jack wants to be a paramedic when he leaves school, having grown up with family members who have always been involved with volunteer­ing for emergency services. He wants to follow in their footsteps. Jack describes himself as a good public speaker, and he loves music and has been learning guitar, keyboard and drums at school.

Jack believes it is important to get involved in the community to help others express them­selves, and to overcome stress and anxiety. He is very passionate about speaking up against bullying at school, and likes to show people that by getting out in the community, enjoying fun events and talking to people, you can feel better about yourself and help overcome problems.

“I always try to help anyone who is getting bul­lied,” said Jack. “At school, I’m working with one of the teachers to put together a group that can help people with stress and anxiety.”

Jack joined the Under One Rainbow community group to encourage others to get involved. He helps with the many community events they run throughout the year, such as the Under One Rainbow Christmas Party, Halloween, Pride Colour Run, Cris Fitz­patrick Day, Anti-Bullying Week and Harmony Day. Jack also attended the annual Tas Pride Parade in Hobart with Under One Rainbow.

As if Jack is not busy enough, he has started participating in the Community Creators pro­gram this year at JRLF-SS and recently joined the Brighton Youth Action Group (BYAG).

Beyond his championing of anti-bullying ini­tiatives, Jack is also thinking about many other things in our community. “I would like to see less rubbish around our area and people doing things to make it cleaner,” said Jack. “It would be good to teach people about the impact of throw­ing rubbish on the ground. I would like to see a cleaner school and people feeling connected and working together to make the school environ­ment better for everyone.”