Melton Weekly & Star Weekly – Melton
University Pathways Program
Melton and Moorabool students will be given valuable guidance in choosing a tertiary course or career thanks to a series of workshops. e University Pathways Program, run by not-for-pro t organisation Doxa, provides struggling students with a taste of university life and the world of work.
Gippsland Times & Maffra Spectator
University Pathways Program
Students from Catholic College Sale, Maffra Secondary College and Sale College will take part in a university pathways program this week. Local students will join students in Year 12 from around Victoria including Geelong and across Melbourne, taking part in two sessions.
Young disadvantaged students from around Victoria are getting what a lot of families and kids take for granted – a well-earned break these summer holidays.
Doxa’s award-winning Malmsbury Camp is a residential facility which offers positive life experiences to young people from challenging life circumstances through team-building and challenge-by-choice activities.
The young people attending the summer camp program will come from a variety of challenging backgrounds such as low socio-economic families, single parent families and refugee or migrant families.
The aim of the summer camp is to give these young people some fun, encourage social cohesion and confidence and teach them about the environment and sustainability.
There are two camps this January, 2019:
Jess Case, Doxa Malmsbury Camp Manager, says: “The children have the time of their life, make new friends, challenge themselves, learn new skills and have fun. It’s really heart-warming to see the impact that attending camp and experiencing the great outdoors can have on these young lives.”
The camp theme this summer is Aussie Adventures, with a focus on sustainability and awareness of our beautiful country. Activities will include:
The camps are run by qualified outdoor education instructors alongside returning and new volunteers and Junior Camp Assistants.
This year, some former Doxa program participants have returned as Junior Camp Assistants on Summer Camp, wanting to help others the same way they were helped themselves.
The cost of the camp is heavily subsidised and places are also offered for free via Doxa’s Campership Fund to students who can’t otherwise attend.
The Doxa Malmsbury Camp is accredited by the Australian Camps Association and Australian Tourism Accreditation Program and was the recipient of the Minister’s Award in the Government’s Community, Sport & Recreation Awards 2015.
The Malmsbury Camp is part of Doxa’s portfolio, a series of programs from grade 5 to university that dovetail together and support educational attainment while also offering practical skills and experience to assist in a young person’s journey towards meaningful employment.
To get involved or for more information on all Doxa’s programs, please visit www.doxa.org.au.
About Doxa
Doxa is a Victorian not-for-profit organisation that provides programs for disadvantaged young people so that they can access positive life experiences, education opportunities and employment pathways. Doxa has been around since 1972 and their programs support over 7,300 young Victorians – typically aged eight to 24 years old – each year. Every young person they interact with has a different set of life circumstances. Doxa’s aim is to ensure that all young people enjoy enriching experiences and educational opportunity and advancement.
– ENDS –
For media enquiries on behalf of Doxa, please contact
Progressive PR & Communications
03 9696 6417
Darren Saffin / Jodie Artis
0411 089 209 / 0414 699 186
darren@progressivepr.com.au / jodie@progressivepr.com.au
[1] Dropping off the Edge: Jesuit Social Services: 2015
Getting into university can be tough. What to study, where to study it, what is work going to be like once all the study is over? For a young adult in high school, the information on offer can be overwhelming.
Doxa’s University Pathways Program is a multi-year, multi-touchpoint program that provides students with first-hand experience of university life and a taste of the world of work.
The University Pathways Program is open to young people with challenging life circumstances who are in years 9 – 12 of high school and are interested in continuing their education at university. It supports young people to attend university and gain the skills for an employable and rewarding future.
Participants in the program come from a variety of challenging backgrounds. Everyone is different, but this could be financial difficulty, family trauma, being culturally and/or linguistically diverse, being from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, or a refugee and/or migrant background.
There will be two University Pathways Program sessions in January, 2019:
Students in Year 12 from around Victoria including Geelong, Gippsland and across Melbourne will be taking part in both sessions.
Students will be developing their personal, professional and employment skills by visiting universities and corporate workplaces across Melbourne CBD including BT and ACU University.
They will also be meeting professionals from across the not-for-profit sector in a NFP round robin session.
Since its inception in 2015, more than 800 young people have participated in the Doxa University Pathways Program.
Doxa CEO, Steve Clifford, said, “At Doxa, we offer support for young people from challenging life circumstances and give them opportunities they may not otherwise have access to. Our University Pathways Program gives students a chance to meet professionals, explore career options and build employability skills.”
“We offer invaluable networking opportunities, and develop students’ enterprise, employment and personal skills that will help them succeed in university and in the workplace. In fact, we are delighted to report that 84% of the 2017 Year 12 students who graduated from our University Pathways Program were successfully enrolled in university courses in 2018.”
University Pathways Program graduate Charlotte says “Had it not been for the support and guidance I gained through the programs, I may not have had the courage and resources to pursue my passion for physiotherapy.
I definitely would’ve really struggled to adapt to uni life, especially as I am working two part-time jobs alongside my studies to ensure that I am able to support myself financially.”
The University Pathways Program is part of Doxa’s portfolio, a series of programs from grade 5 to university that dovetail together and support educational attainment while also offering practical skills and experience to assist in a young person’s journey towards meaningful employment.
About Doxa
Doxa is a Victorian not-for-profit organisation that provides programs for disadvantaged young people so that they can access positive life experiences, education opportunities and employment pathways. Doxa has been around since 1972 and their programs support over 7,300 young Victorians – typically aged eight to 24 years old – each year. Every young person they interact with has a different set of life circumstances. Doxa’s aim is to ensure that all young people enjoy enriching experiences and educational opportunity and advancement.
– ENDS –
For media enquiries on behalf of Doxa, please contact
Progressive PR & Communications
03 9696 6417
Darren Saffin / Jodie Artis
0411 089 209 / 0414 699 186
darren@progressivepr.com.au / jodie@progressivepr.com.au
[1] Dropping off the Edge: Jesuit Social Services: 2015
Pulse Radio, Geelong
Future Focus Geelong
Following the success of our Future Focus program for Years 7 and 8 students transitioning to secondary school in NW Metro Melbourne, we launched the program in Geelong – one of the most disadvantaged suburbs in Victoria. Doxa CEO, Steve Clifford, spoke to Pulse Radio about Future Focus Geelong.
Geelong Advertiser
Future Focus Geelong
Following the success of our Future Focus program for Years 7 and 8 students transitioning to secondary school in NW Metro Melbourne, we launched the program in Geelong – one of the most disadvantaged suburbs in Victoria. One of the program participants spoke to the Geelong Advertiser about his experiences of participating in the program.
Geelong Advertiser
Future Focus Geelong
Following the success of our Future Focus program for Years 7 and 8 students transitioning to secondary school in NW Metro Melbourne, we launched the program in Geelong – one of the most disadvantaged suburbs in Victoria. One of the program participants spoke to the Geelong Advertiser about his experiences of participating in the program.
Doxa supports youth of Geelong with launch of Future Focus program across secondary schools
The experiences of students and the progress of their learning are critical considerations when children move from primary to secondary school.
For Victorian not-for-profit youth organisation, Doxa, this is an important aspect of a young person’s life and will be made easier for the youth of Geelong when the Future Focus transitional program launches across a number of secondary schools in May.
Off the back of successful Future Focus campaigns in metro Melbourne schools, Doxa will launch the program across multiple Geelong schools this month.
According to data released in 2015, Geelong students live in some of the most disadvantaged Victorian suburbs when it comes to education, literacy and numeracy, unskilled work, long-term unemployment, and juvenile offending[1]
Responding to the shortage of early secondary school programs for vulnerable students in Geelong, Future Focus is a two-year program for students in year seven and eight that offers support in transitioning from primary to secondary school through personal, study, and leadership skills.
Adopted by Geelong High School, Northern Bay College, Bellarine Secondary College and Newcomb Secondary College students, the program will also provide knowledge and skills to cope with more sensitive issues such as bullying, peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, stress, and mental health issues.
“With school retention rates for regional Victorian students approximately 20% lower than their metropolitan counterparts and Geelong youth living in some of the most disadvantaged suburbs when it comes to education, we knew we needed to do more to help develop life skills and combat disadvantage here in Geelong,” Said Steve Clifford, Doxa’s Chief Executive Officer
As part of the Future Focus program, students will also participate in a residential weekend at Doxa’s camp in Malmsbury and four half-day in-school leadership workshops, culminating in a certificate and awards night at the end of each year.
Since the organisation was established in 1972, Doxa has supported thousands of disadvantaged youth throughout Victoria, ensuring all young people have access to positive life experiences, education opportunities and employment pathways.
“We want to support all young people in making positive decisions in their lives. Whether that’s staying in education or entering into a vocational pathway, the most important part is that these young people are engaged, connected and become decision makers for their future,” said Steve Clifford.
The Geelong Future Focus program is funded by Give Where You Live Geelong and the Perpetual Trust.
About Doxa
Doxa is a Victorian not-for-profit organisation that provides programs for disadvantaged young people so that they can access positive life experiences, education opportunities and employment pathways. Doxa has been around since 1972 and their programs support over 7,300 young Victorians – typically aged eight to 24 years old – each year. Every young person they interact with has a different set of life circumstances. Doxa’s aim is to ensure that all young people enjoy enriching experiences and educational opportunity and advancement.
– ENDS –
For media enquiries on behalf of Doxa, please contact
Progressive PR & Communications
03 9696 6417
Darren Saffin / Jodie Artis
0411 089 209 / 0414 699 186
darren@progressivepr.com.au / jodie@progressivepr.com.au
[1] Dropping off the Edge: Jesuit Social Services: 2015
The Educator Australia (Online)
Future Focus Geelong, University Pathways Program
Doxa CEO Steve Clifford was interviewed about Doxa’s work in disadvantaged schools in Victoria. He discussed the new Future Focus Geelong program, our University Pathways Program and the importance of working with schools to achieve outcomes for disadvantaged young people.
Bendigo & District Aboriginal Cooperative Smoking Ceremony at Malmsbury Camp
“In this time, I have seen and experienced the amazing work that Doxa does for young people in our community, and now I am proud to say that we are working towards reconciliation with the community in the development of our first ever RAP.”
A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. There are four different types of RAP; Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Even though we are still in the developmental stages our first RAP, Reconciliation Australia has advised us to move from a ‘reflect’ RAP to an ‘innovate’ RAP. Although this may seem like a small feat it is cause for celebration. This advancement marks Doxa’s first accomplishment in reconciliation. We have observed and evaluated our level of cultural competency and have acknowledged that significant work needs to be done at Doxa to welcome more ATSI staff and program participants, increase our collective knowledge and to push for reconciliation within our sphere of influence.
Program Participants at our Malmsbury camp
In the five years that I have been with Doxa I have been able to experience both sides of the company, as both a program participant and an employee. Being the first Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Program participant, and one of the only current Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees I have felt relatively alone at Doxa.
“With no representation and little understanding of my culture, I will be honest and say that at times I have found it tough to find that sense of belonging that some of my peers have benefited from.”
I acknowledge that some gestures have been made at Doxa to change this but it’s important that these are done with good intention and genuine commitment to reconciliation and are not merely tokenistic. Tokenism is something we see a lot of in society and it’s not helpful. That’s why we need a RAP. By committing to a RAP, Doxa is committing to becoming an environment where Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young peoples feel welcome, safe and valued, with our culture recognised, understood and celebrated. And that’s a really important place to be.
Doxa is working towards ensuring that Indigenous young peoples feel safe and supported
While our RAP is still in the developmental stages, it has already had an immense impact upon the organisation. We have been able to implement changes and raise awareness about not only Doxa’s but our staff and participants cultural . Cultural awareness training for all staff has been booked and has already started the conversations around reconciliation. Staff have also stated that they have been engaging in conversations and activities with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples outside of work.
“While this may not seem like much, a conversation is where true reconciliation must begin.”
In creating and committing to a RAP Doxa has taken that first step towards reconciliation. Now, our journey is well underway and those first few steps have started us on our march, with each step paving the way for others to follow.
Recent Comments