ANOTHER year of giving is about to begin with the Fremantle Foundation launching Impact100 2017 this month.
Kicking off on March 30, this year’s theme is centred on Aboriginal health and wellbeing, recognising the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum.
Fremantle Foundation chief executive Dylan Smith said they were “open-minded and open-hearted” about the year ahead.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW“We will be a better country and a better community when we all work together to close the gap,” he said.
“This year, there will be more events and opportunities than ever before for our donors to come together and increase their understanding of how $100,000 can go towards local projects that empower Aboriginal people.
“If you’ve ever felt bewildered or disheartened by stat after stat that shows Aboriginal people in this country are extremely disadvantaged then we invite you to join this year Impact100 Fremantle effort.”
Impact100 2016 winners Night Hoops will use the launch to explain how the $100,000 grant has helped them this year.
Night Hoops’ Paul Malone said the grant gave them the ability to plan for eight free six-week basketball tournaments for 12- to 18-year-olds over the next two years, giving young people in the community something positive to do on a Saturday night that promotes respect, teamwork and engagement.
“Previous to this, we were only running two tournaments a year in the Fremantle/Cockburn areas,” he said.
“We now have the opportunity to run twice as many tournaments, plus send a team to Singapore, and this gives us the potential to reach more than 250 young people over the year, exposing them to a safe environment to engage with their peers, local volunteers and attend life-skills workshops.
“Our main purpose is to break the cycle of disadvantage that some of these young people might be exposed to, but a goal like that is further out of reach if grants like Impact100 were not around.”
Visit www.fremantlefoundation.com/impact-100 or www.nighthoops.org for more information.