GOAL

Target Audience: African Australians aged 13-15 years old, living in the west of Melbourne and Victoria.

In 2018, the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation launched its very own African Action Plan in response to the misleading public narrative of an ‘African gang crisis’. This led to the creation and implementation of the GOAL Mentoring Program which has over 60 participants each year.

The GOAL Mentoring program is a free program that aims to create social capital in connecting young people with successful AFL players, AFLW players and Community Mentors from the broader Western Melbourne community, both African and non-African.

The focus of this program is on a mentoring approach to support participants’ personal development and goal setting.

AFLW and AFL players that have been mentors within the GOAL Program include: Tom Liberatore, Isabella Grant, Caleb Daniel, Celine Moody, Jason Johannisen, Jess Fitzgerald, Buku Khamis and Katie Lynch.

Research completed by Victoria University shows that the Goal Mentoring program creates:

• An inclusive and supportive environment
• Friendship and trust with those in their community
• A sense of the value of education

To learn more about how you can support GOAL Mentoring Program, please email us at
[email protected]