Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Fremantle Foundation's Impact100 Award this year focused on building community spirit around the great potential that is unlocked through community giving. All four finalists were organisations run by dedicated people who are putting in the hard yards to help some of the most vulnerable people in Fremantle.

This year's major prize winner, Growing Change, will transform an unused North Fremantle bowling club green into a microfarm. The $100,000 prize will provide a transformational boost to Growing Change and its development of the Fremantle Social Farm. Instead of a vacant space, this plot will become a place of connection, activity and therapy for vulnerable people who are experiencing mental illness, homelessness or social isolation. Participants will undertake a 12-week introductory horticultural program, and graduates will have the opportunity to lease farmland and maintain a private or shared plot to continue harvesting produce. Sales of that produce will allow the not-for-profit Growing Change to share revenue among leaseholders, allowing them to receive a modest income and to reinvest in their microfarm.

I take my hat off to Growing Change's founder and CEO, Renee Gardiner, for her tenacity in overcoming a range of challenges and in transforming her passion for social enterprise into a tangible project that will creatively address a number of entrenched social ills.

Since its inauguration in 2013 the Impact100 Award, which seeks $1,000 donations from at least 100 people across our community in order to raise a game-changing $100,000 for one winner per year, has already made an enormous difference to three crucial Fremantle initiatives. This year, 30 more donors came aboard allowing for the remaining finalists this year to each receive $10,000 towards their projects.

Lifting Horizons' Night Hoops youth engagement program engages at-risk young people aged 12 to 18 by offering safe and constructive basketball based activities on Saturday nights. This structured alternative to being on the streets provides participants with a positive experience in an environment of respect that ultimately improves their connection to society.

Inclusion WA has developed its concept for the Freo-Connect Sport and Recreation Program to address community concerns about high rates of crime, the disengagement of local youth, increasing rates of substance abuse, antisocial behaviour and truancy. The program aims to help local groups cater for people who are facing barriers to social inclusion. Inclusion WA trains and mentors sporting clubs, recreational groups and individuals to foster the engagement or re-engagement of those who are socially isolated.

Perth's existing Befriend Social Network will be able to expand events into Fremantle that enable marginalised, socially-excluded individuals to participate in everyday community activities, meet new people and form genuine connections through sharing meaningful social experiences with others.

The annual Impact100 award is making a profound difference. Last year, the focus was on mental wellbeing and homelessness, and previously the focus was on the engagement of at-risk youth. It is a grassroots, community-level initiative that inspires collaborative philanthropy to support innovative problem-solving organisations. I especially acknowledge the work and leadership of Dylan Smith in making this wonderful concept into a reality. (Time expired)