August 12 – Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello has today announced a third round of Youth Opportunities funding, with applications opening on 22 August.
Mr Dominello made the announcement during a visit to Waverley Action for Youth Services (WAYS) in Bondi Junction to mark International Youth Day. He was joined by Member for Coogee Bruce Notley-Smith.
“The NSW Government is pleased to commit a total of $1 million for new Youth Opportunities projects which seek to empower at-risk young people to develop leadership skills, self-confidence and participate more fully in their local communities,” Mr Dominello said.
“Since its inception in June 2012, Youth Opportunities has provided funding for 61 local projects which aimed to deliver innovative youth leadership and mentoring experiences.
“A total of $4.6 million has been provided to support over 870 community activities for more than 8,000 young people over the past two years.
“This program is about providing opportunities for at-risk young people to get the skills they need to succeed at school, to be ambitious about their future careers and to effect positive change in their local communities.
“Grants of up to $50,000 will be offered for projects up to 12 months and initiatives focussing on leadership development, mentoring, volunteering and fundraising for charitable causes will be encouraged.
“The last round of Youth Opportunities saw a number of inspiring projects funded. For example, one project supported six young deaf students to learn film making skills and enabled them to produce a documentary about their lives and the challenge faced by young people living with a disability.
“Another saw 28 homeless and at-risk young people in the Illawarra taught construction skills while working to redevelop the former Warilla Police Station into a Community Hub and youth accommodation facility.”
The Office of Communities will run workshops in Sydney, Liverpool, Mt Druitt, Newcastle, Wollongong, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Tamworth and Queanbeyan in late August and early September to provide advice on the guidelines and application process.
Information will be available on the Youth NSW website: www.youth.nsw.gov.au.
Enquiries can also be made to the Office of Communities’ Youth Team on (02) 8762 9838 and youth@communities.nsw.gov.au. Applications close on Monday 29 September.