On 3 April Opendoor team members were thrilled to join the GOAL Program with the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
The Community Foundation mentorship program, launched as part of the Foundation’s Diversity and Social Inclusion stream, aims to provide vital community connections and support to African Australian young people living in Melbourne’s West. Mentees aged between 14 – 18 were matched with mentors, and over 12 weeks will regularly meet to build a friendship geared toward positive personal development. Support offered includes networking, exploring employment and education pathways, building communication skills, personal goal setting and planning, health and wellbeing and engaging in recreational workshops.
Opendoor’s Youth Manager Jardi McInnes, ran the first ‘taster’ of Education and Employment Pathways. It was a session exploring careers and jobs, aimed at getting the young people to think about the skills, experience and personal attributes required to find and keep a job. Jardi described the program as “extremely worthwhile”, adding “I have loved being involved in the GOAL program and seeing the young people progress in their confidence each week. The support that’s being offered to the GOAL participants is such a unique experience and delivered in such an engaging way that promotes growth, confidence and initiative in the young people.”
The GOAL mentoring program is part of the Community Foundations African Action Plan and it’s aims to address ‘education and training’; a need identified through close consultation with the African Australian community.
We congratulate these outstanding young people for their efforts thus far and the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation for their initiative.
