Police throw open the door to annual Illawarra charity ball

This year marks the return of the Illawarra Police Charity Ball following a three-year COVID-enforced hiatus, and tickets are on sale for the wider community to attend.

Not only will the region's police officers be letting their hair down for a good time, they're raising funds for the Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra to provide educational scholarships.

Syrian-born Hasnaa Toma is a recent MCCI scholarship recipient and it's helped her as she completes her degree criminology at University of Wollongong.

"They [the MCCI] have been with me since I was in high school," the 21-year-old said of MCCI.

Ms Toma was nine years old when she fled war-torn Syria with her family to go to Lebanon. Three years later they arrived in Wollongong thanks to the help of UNICEF.

She didn't speak English when she arrived in Australia and settling into a new country was challenging.

"It's a huge change, it's a whole different culture, it's very, very different. I came here with zero English and I had to learn from the start," she said.

"I sometimes lost motivation to go to school, and I knew that I have people, I have a backup for me.

"It can be difficult to come into a different culture and different world, it's like alien world, but it's beautiful sometimes."

Ms Toma has long had an interest in criminology and enjoys solving puzzles, her dream is to become a detective or criminal defence lawyer.

MCCI Youth and Refugee Support general manager Allyson Pazos said additional scholarships will be funded thanks to the support of this year's police ball.

When MCCI first offered educational scholarships 12 people applied, the most recent round attracted 48 applicants.

Applications are open to people of a multicultural background.

"We just want to hear people's dreams and goals," Ms Pazos said.

"We would like to know their future aspirations for their engagement with learning, whether that's a school or whether that's going to be on any tertiary part or through their vocational pathways, and to make sure that they're willing to be partnered with us through that journey so that we can mentor them and support them through that journey."

The Illawarra Police Charity Ball is on Friday, July 26 at the University of Wollongong's Great Hall.

NSW Police Inspector Nerissa Peterson said the ball is a fantastic opportunity for members of the public to meet local police officers and enjoy a great night out.

"They'll see a side of the police with a bit of our culture and the band, horses, highway patrol car, motorbikes, bit of pomp and ceremony," she said

"Then, we have the police band, which is a rock band, to kick-off dancing into the evening."

Tickets are $150 and include a three-course meal, drinks and entertainment by the NSW Police Band.

Book your place through Try Booking Australia by searching Illawarra Police Charity Ball 2024.

If you have a business that would like to donate or support the event, contact organisers through the above page.