CQUniversity Early Childhood student Jessica Firkin has been named as this year's Bundaberg Youth Volunteer of the Year, as part of the Wide Bay Community Volunteer Awards.

Jessica, 20, gained the award for her volunteer work as a mentor for two children in foster care, through the Pyjama Foundation* reading program.

Early Childhood student Jessica Firkin with her award

As former foster child herself, Jessica now helps to improve the youngsters' literacy skills as a way of 'giving back'.

Jessica told her local newspaper that her own foster parents had had a huge influence on her career choice.

"Both my foster parents were teachers, so I suppose they inspired me to pursue teaching," she told the Bundaberg Newsmail.

Jessica juggles her volunteering with university studies and part-time work.

The keen education student says her reading program involvement is rewarding, even at different rates of improvement.

"The child I've been working with longest is now ahead of her age average for literacy, so we've expanded into numeracy, crafts and cooking as well as reading," Jessica says.

"The other child has a learning disability so we are just working on the foundations of reading, but even small improvements make it worthwhile.

"Studies show foster kids tend to have the lowest literacy levels so it's really rewarding to be able to make a difference."

* The Pyjama Foundation provides modern-day 'angels' for Australia's families supporting our most vulnerable children.

The Pyjama Foundation recruits, screens, trains and supports Pyjama Angels - volunteer members of the community who work with the children and support our true heroes - Australia's foster families.

Pyjama Angels deliver The Pyjama Foundation Love of Learning Program®, a literacy-based mentoring program which addresses statistics around children in care: