OPTUS AND BLACKTOWNS MARIST YOUTH CARE LAUNCH JOB IN A BOX

Optus grant and an innovative job box help disadvantaged youth enter the workforce

Blacktown’s Marist Youth Care will kick off its ‘Job in a Box’ initiative this Friday with $9,420 in funding from the ‘yes’ Optus Community Grants program to help provide disadvantaged young people in Western Sydney with the practical skills they need to gain and keep full time employment.

Marist Youth Care (MYC), a not-for-profit organisation based in Blacktown, New South Wales is using the Optus funding to rollout their inaugural ‘Job in a Box’ program, providing 30 young people the basic necessities they need to support them in a hunt for a job.

The box provides at risk young people with the everyday tools they require but may not have the resources to buy in their initial steps to securing a job, including phone credit, weekly bus and train tickets and vouchers for a haircut and work boots.

Adam Makepeace, Marist Youth Care’s Senior Manager Employment and Training Services, said, “The ‘yes’ Optus Community Grants program has helped us deliver our first ‘Job in a Box’ initiative. By giving some of Blacktown’s disadvantaged youth the resources that most of us take for granted, Optus is helping give these kids a chance to gain and keep full time employment and grow talent in the local area.”

Helen Maisano, Optus Associate Director, Corporate Social Responsibility said, “Blacktown’s Marist Youth Care’s ‘Job in a Box’ is a real demonstration of how organisations can make a difference in their local community. The cost of travel, calling prospective employers and looking smart for interviews can be prohibitive for job seekers and Optus is delighted to invest in an organisation that is helping disadvantaged youth bridge the financial gap as they move into employment.”

The annual ‘yes’ Optus Connecting Communities Grants Program awards funding of up to $10,000 to not-for-profit organisations that help to build social inclusion and reconnect disengaged youth in communities. Since 2008, Optus has awarded $880,000 in grants to 165 community organisations across Australia.

Local MP and Member for Blacktown, John Robertson MP, will be at the centre this Friday from 2:30pm to present the first 30 young graduates with their own ‘Job in a Box’.

MEDIA EVENT:
WHEN: Friday 8 February 2.30-2.45pm
WHERE: Marist Youth Care’s Skills Development Centre, 40 First Avenue, Blacktown
WHY: Presentation of ‘Job In A Box’ to Trainees from the Skills Development Centre
ATTENDING: John Robertson, MP (Leader of the Opposition and Member for Blacktown); Graduate trainees from the Skills Development Centre programs; Marist Youth Care and Optus

About Optus in the Community: For more information on the ‘yes’ Optus Community Grants program please visit Community Grants

Media contact:
Chloe Wilkinson
Fuel Communications
(02) 8217 6508 / 0416 369 897