President’s Report

It gives me great pleasure to present and welcome you to the Y Ballarat and Y Ballarat Youth Services Community Impact Report for 2023/24.

I’d firstly like to acknowledge the contributions of all of our staff and volunteers of the Y. You continue to bring our mission to life and ensure we make a positive impact on the lives of our young people who participate in all of our programs and services – we highly value your impact and passion.

We recognize that for every success story, there are always a number of challenges faced to reach that outcome, and I’d like to celebrate the ongoing resilience and passion of our people for empowering our children and young people, believing in them and their future. I have seen first-hand the impact that our programs have on our communities when I visit a site or program and it truly inspires me and reminds me of how special the Y is for all who have a connection.

We are so grateful for the ongoing support and connection with our partners and stakeholders, for their contributions towards our mission through fundraising, grants, donations, and their ongoing collaboration.

We have seen the results of these positive connections through creating rejuvenated facilities and outdoor play spaces at kindergartens, new Outside School Hours Care opportunities and programming, and the strengthening of our Youth and Community Programs. We look forward to commencing the rollout of “Pre-Prep” in 2025 for the Ararat community and strengthening our longstanding connection to young people by offering 30 hours of kindergarten across our services in the region.

The Board and Executive Leadership Team again met to review and reflect on our strategic plan journey “Towards Vision 2030”. This acts as an important reflection point for the Board to review priorities and establish the Business Plan for the following year – the Y operates in many complex sectors and needs to ensure we are considerate of the external directions in which these sectors are trending to allow the Y to remain a positive lead and influence.

My sincere thanks to our dedicated Board of Directors, for your ongoing support and passion for our mission, and for contributing your personal expertise as a volunteer to the Y. The Board continues to evolve in its collective skills and knowledge to ensure it is ready for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

I would also like to recognise the tenure of Board Director Michael Bailey who will be retiring from the Board at the 2024 AGM. Michael has been a long-standing Director having volunteered on the Board for three different Y Associations throughout their journey, Portland, Grampians and Ballarat YMCA’s. Thank you, Michael and we wish you well.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact of Year 3 of our Strategic Plan – Towards Vision 2030 come to life through 2024-25.

Congratulations and thank you.juve