IN the seven years since the Right Track Foundation was founded, its focus has shifted dramatically, but its willingness to serve has remained strong.
What started as a school trip to Stanford University in California has now turned into a not-for-profit organisation that aims to forge connections with remote communities through athletics.
Founder and Carey Baptist College teacher Graeme Watson said the group was born out of a desire to use his athletics knowledge to make a difference in regional communities.
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READ NOW“It started with going up and serving communities, running athletics programs and going in with the idea of changing the community,” he said.
“It’s changed to going up, meeting communities, building relationships, listening to the leaders and people in the communities, seeing what the need is and then partnering with people in the community so together we make that difference in the community.
“After the initial trip to Stanford University, we didn’t want the kids to come back with a big head, but to come back with a servant heart.”
Now, the Right Track Foundation runs a variety of different projects, including an annual regional camp to the inner north west that departs next week, a residential camp in Karalundi Aboriginal Educational Facility and has recently launched a mentoring program with Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
Towards the end of the year, it will also be hosting a camp for indigenous athletes in Perth, involving testing and tours of Murdoch University, and taking a group of Carey students to Kenya in 2018 to volunteer.
Mr Watson said these projects differed drastically from what he initially envisioned the foundation doing, but the seismic shift was for the right reasons.
“Our aim is to empower remote indigenous communities through athletics, that’s our overall arching goal, and what that looks like I think is going to change depending on what community we get into,” he said.
“Instead of having a strict, ‘this is what we do’ focus, (we’re) saying ‘these are the opportunities we have coming, what are we going to grab hold of?’
“The Kenya trip is really exciting, with a future goal of having kids from Meekatharra go to Kenya and experience a different culture, but also to see we’re also very similar.”
The Right Track Foundation has an information evening coming up at Carey.
For more information, visit college.carey.asn.au.
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