Future Focus

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:

• Malmsbury Summer Camp 1- 7^th-11^th Jan
• Malmsbury Summer Camp 2 – 14^th-18^th Jan

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:

• Australian Animal Display
• Summer Solstice Fair
• Enviro and Bush Camp activities
• High ropes course
• Swimming

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:

• Monday 14 – Wednesday 16, January 2019
• Thursday 17 January – Saturday 19 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

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