106 Mentors to Open Doors to Opportunities for Young People on the Central Coast

Ulverstone’s Collective ed. team is working together with the community to enable young people to thrive, increase year 12 attainment and identify ways more young people can transition into meaningful pathways after school. This week, the Central Coast community held an event to celebrate the Central Coast 100 Day Challenge and to launch Doors to Mentors.

Hon Jeremy Rockliff, Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Training attended the event at the Ulverstone Wharf Precinct together with Councillor Cheryl Fuller who launched Doors to Mentors on behalf of Mayor Jan Bonde. Trudy Pearce, Deputy Secretary Learning, Glen Lutwyche and Shane Cleaver, Principal and Assistant Principal at Ulverstone Secondary College and Beacon Foundation’s Collective ed. team led by Shaun Conkie were also present to celebrate.

Doors to Mentors is a community-driven mentoring program. As part of the Central Coast 100 Day Challenge held in 2019, 106 mentors were identified in 100 days to support this initiative. Doors to Mentors will match people aged 15-24 in the Central Coast with mentors to identify and support young people to achieve their aspirations.

Bailey Livesley, one of the  year 11 students from Ulverstone Secondary College and part of the Central Coast 100 Day Challenge Working Group, says it’s been a rewarding experience to see Doors to Mentors come to life;

“As a young person, you don’t often feel like your voice is heard. Collective ed. has enabled a space for conversation and discussion to take place, to contribute to our community.”

“It was a special feeling to share my ideas [as part of the Central Coast 100 Day Challenge] and see them actually come to life through the launch of Doors to Mentors”.

Collective ed. Ulverstone is one of six sites and part of the first Collective Impact initiative hosted by Beacon Foundation. Through Collective ed., Beacon is supporting six communities. The aim is to ensure more young people complete year 12 or equivalent and enable them to transition into meaningful pathways after school. Beacon Foundation CEO Scott Harris says it’s taking a holistic approach to community wellbeing;

“Beacon Foundation is proud to host Collective ed. It is outstanding to see the Central Coast community come together to determine initiatives that they believe will lead to a better future for their young people.

Beacon Foundation congratulates the Central Coast community on their commitment to collectively making a difference.

The Advocate covered the story in the article: “Beacon Foundation’s mentorship program Doors to Mentors launches on Central Coast”

About Collective ed. Ulverstone
Collective ed. Ulverstone is one of six sites and part of the first Collective Impact initiative that Beacon Foundation has hosted. Collective ed. has set out to ensure more young people complete year 12 or equivalent and enable them to transition into meaningful pathways after school. Collective ed. is built on the power of the community and place the community it at the centre to drive large scale social change. Hosted by Beacon Foundation, Collective ed. is a $15 million, five-year project, funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s biggest philanthropic organisation, and the Tasmanian State Government.