Five charities which create employment pathways for vulnerable and disadvantaged community groups have today been announced as recipients of Flight Centre Foundation’s annual Giving Grants program.
Meals with Impact, Steps Pathway College, Brainwave Australia, For Change Co and Zoe Support Australia will each receive an equal share of $75,000 prior to Christmas – as provided by Flight Centre employees through their workplace giving program.
The recipients all assist a diverse range of people to enter the workforce, from refugees and young mums, to people with brain injuries and the homeless. Skills taught and jobs created cover everything from cooking skills and bicycle repair work to transportation and retail.
“Our Flight Centre Travel Group employees, through our grants program, are thrilled to help people experiencing barriers to mainstream employment,” said Head of People & Culture Allisa O’Connell. “What’s extra rewarding is that many of these charities have a dual purpose, such as helping the circular economy through saving bikes from landfill and repairing them, and providing food for other people in need.”
The Foundation called for not-for-profits to apply for the Giving Grants if they met the employment pathways criteria, and all of Flight Centre Travel Group’s 4900 employees were invited to vote for their preferred charity. (Details on the five projects the Foundation is funding are outlined below).
“The Giving Grants are only made possible through the commitment of our people to generously support Australian charities through workplace giving so we want them to have the final say in how their contributions will make the biggest impact,” Allisa said. “The Flight Centre Foundation has been a much-loved initiative of our people for many years, and this is the second year of the Giving Grants Program, which we plan to continue in 2023 and beyond.”
The Foundation has donated over $20 million dollars globally ($15 million in Australia) since its inception in 2008. Employees give through workplace giving and Flight Centre Travel Group matches their donations dollar for dollar.
“Flight Centre Travel Group also provides our people an annual volunteer day every year where they can help a charity of their own choosing,” said Allisa. “They’ve spent their volunteer leave doing everything from planting trees, cooking up meals, writing Christmas cards for kids in foster care, helping clean and care for animals and much more.”
CHARITY PROFILES:
Meals with Impact is a work integrated social enterprise that provides employment to women from migrant and refugee backgrounds to build capacity and confidence working in Australia through hands on training, paid work and diverse opportunities. The grant will go towards targeting non-English speaking migrant women aged 45+ in Melbourne to gain the skills and confidence in job roles, providing the following services: social impact catering, online meal delivery systems and tackling food insecurity by feeding people in need. Operations in Victoria.
STEPS Pathways College provides independent living skills for disabled young people with autism, down syndrome and more complex and/or profound needs. They deliver classroom-based training 5 days a week to residential students so they can increase their confidence living independently (STEPS Charity runs their residential centre). They focus on modules such as community engagement, employment training and health and nutrition. The grant will go towards employing an instructional designer to update all resources and therefore better support their residential students. Operations in Queensland and Northern Territory.
For Change Co. operates a portfolio of five hospitality-based social enterprises with 100% of profits going into creating pathways out of homelessness for young people (16-26). With their main program, the home plate program, they provide paid education, training and employment for young people at-risk of homelessness and support the planning of next steps into education and employment upon program graduation. The grant will go towards employing a transitions coordinator to ensure young people, after graduating, can move into employment with local employment partners and create lasting impact for the young people and employers. Operations in Victoria.
Zoe Support Australia focuses on supporting young mothers (13-25) escape poverty cycles, ill health, destitution and distress by re-engaging them into education, employment and social programs. They run multiple Zoe Centres (hubs) which provide family day care and programs for mothers and have the Little Sprouts Op Shop social enterprise. The grant will go towards pre-accredited educational programs for participants as a pathway to employment and achieving job readiness, such as classes in arts, baking, cooking, wellbeing, beauty, trades and general operations. Operations in Victoria.
Brainwave supports children with brain disorders and their families through their social enterprise Brainwave Bikes which receives, refurbishes and retails 5,000 used bikes per annum, saving them from landfill and providing affordable bikes and employment opportunities. They aim to enable young people with brain injuries and illnesses to gain the life and work skills needed to transition to employment, specifically in the circular economy. The grant will go towards customer service, bike mechanics and logistics training for their young participants. Operations in Victoria.
