Down the Track exists to support disengaged and at-risk youth, promote engagement and self-esteem and reduce youth crime.

Operating in remote areas in Central West New South Wales, they achieve this by providing these youth, 90% of whom are Indigenous, with training, education, employment pathways and community connection. Without the support of Down the Track, these youth are on a downward spiral of continual disengagement from their communities and positive life opportunities.

2018 Pitch
Funds raised: $100,000

Lake Cargelligo is a tough little town in Central West NSW, and it needs a hand. In this small community there is only one service that can provide employment and support to young people who have become disengaged. Lana and Jai-James know first hand the amazing potential these young people have and were pitching for funding to continue and grow the Down The Track program, so they can reach more of these young people and become sustainable.

The impact…

Thanks to the money raised, Down the Track has been able to provide employment through its social enterprise to 12 more young people, purchase a vehicle to improve its reach and has in total affected around 80 young people local. More importantly, thanks to their catering social enterprise, they’ve been able to connect their young employees to the town and foster renewed connections to the local community.

“Our Down The Track Program in Lake Cargelligo has had some amazing results working with the disengaged youth in our community. A story that stands out for our team is working with one young person to support them in their education journey which has resulted in them gaining entry to study at University. Now for some this isn’t a big deal, but for us this was a moment of change for future generations.This young person had completely dropped out of school when she was referred to the Down the Track Program. The TFN funding allowed us to work with this young person by mentoring her back into school, supporting her studies and assisting with scholarship applications, along with connecting her to support networks while she attended university. She is the first person in her family to finish school and to gain entry into university, she is currently studying Environmental Science and will continue into her 2nd year of study.” – Lana Masterson, Program Manager

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