Jennifer Pittorino
At least 600 secondary school students a year will benefit from a new partnership between Victoria University (VU) and the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation (WB Community Foundation).
The new initiative called ‘The WB Community Foundation School Workshops, with VU as the Presenting Partner’, will deliver workshops focused on mental health and resilience.
Other topics will include leadership skills development, education pathways, employment pathways, social responsibility, gender equity and goal setting.
Each school will select the number of co-designed sessions and topics best suited to the needs of the students, which are then presented by experienced professionals from WB Community Foundation and VU.
VU Vice-Chancellor professor Adam Shoemaker said he was proud to confirm this partnership.
“Beyond our deep, shared history of delivering accessible programs tailored to the needs of the west, we have a united vision for the future, one that is committed to addressing inequity in all its forms,” he said.
WB Community Foundation community and government relations general manager Kashif Bouns said the partnership could not have arrived at a better time.
“At the WB Community Foundation, we take pride in delivering evidence-based programs co- designed in consultation with our community,” he said.
“This has been made possible through our long- standing partnership with VU.
“It’s truly wonderful to deepen this collaboration, creating more opportunities for young people in Melbourne’s west through customised school workshops.”
VU and WB Community Foundation have previously collaborated on a number of projects which have been tailored for the west including research into the WB Community Foundation initiatives, the Sons of the West and Daughters of the West, as well as the WB Community Foundation CALDplay program.
There will also be exciting new opportunities for VU students to ‘learn in the workplace,’ with a number of work integrated learning (WIL) placements to enhance opportunities for students working in social work, community services and youth work.
