CEO Report

I am excited to launch our Community Impact Report for 2023/24. This Report reflects our commitment to making a difference in the lives of young people through our range of programs and services across Victoria. It highlights and celebrates the milestones, successes and challenges across the year that have been achieved together, laying significant groundwork for the future.

In July 2022, we launched our new Strategic Plan “Towards Vision 2030”, and throughout this past year (Year 2) we continued to activate and deliver upon our ribbon areas of Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, A Just World and Sustainable Planet leading us towards achieving our mission.

We are delighted to launch our Workforce Plan, which is more important than ever as we continue to see the impact of workforce shortages in the ECEC sector. The plan will take the Y through the next 5 years including the beginning of the Best Start, Best Life reform rollout, allowing us to be well placed with active strategies to recruit, retain, and provide meaningful work for our people.

Planning is underway for the first year of “Pre-Prep” which will commence in February 2025 at 6 kindergarten services in the Ararat Rural City Council region. The Y’s commitment to deliver 30 hours of free kindergarten for 4-year-olds is driven by our passion to support the youngest learners and their families across the Ararat region.

We believe that quality early education leads to better outcomes for communities. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of this first stage in 2025 as we continue planning for our next cohort of families and communities in 2026.

Our Youth and Community Impact team continues to inspire and empower with their unrelenting drive to support young people towards a bright future through their education and engagement programs.

The innovative Pride in Schools event grows every year, highlighting the Y’s role in creating understanding and acceptance of diversity and inclusion in the Ballarat community. Our commitment to being big, brave and accountable empowers us to continue to play a significant role in supporting and advocating for all young people.

Assisting young people struggling with conventional educational pathways, Jump Start increased in reputation and impact. Through the automotive engagement program, a further 8 groups of young people have discovered new skills, connections and opportunities for their futures through the past year.

ReCranked, our bike recycling program, formed new partnerships and ramped up operations, turning around the highest number of bikes in one year since it started. Now in its eleventh year, over 3,500 bikes have been saved from landfill since ReCranked commenced, with 2,600 refurbished and donated back to community members for recreation and essential transport.

We continue to see growth in our reach, with new services and programs joining the Y. Y Learn and Swim launched its first year of free sessional kindergarten, adding to long day care and swimming lessons already on offer at the centre. This provides convenience for local families, with a unique combination of early education programs under one roofline.

We also welcomed St Patrick’s Primary School in Gordon to our OSHC family and are delighted to support the local school community with Before and After School Care.

I must acknowledge that the outcomes of the year would simply not have occurred without the passion and dedication of all our staff teams. Your drive and commitment to the community and the young people who participate in our services and programs are what makes this all possible – thank you.

I’d also like to acknowledge the support of the Board of Directors for their continued leadership, and to the Executive team and leaders who inspire and energize our organisation every day.

I look forward to our continued journey towards Vision 2030.