Back in July we asked our Facebook followers to vote. We needed support to win an Australian Ethical Community Grant, which we were going to use to bring BikeRescue to the Pilbara.
Thanks to the strength of the proposed program and the support of our followers, Dismantle was one of 19 organisations selected from over 500 applicants.
Australian Ethical is a superannuation company that invests solely in ethical causes and 10% of their profits go towards this grant scheme. Now, $15k of that is all Dismantle’s, and we’re going to use it to extend the reach and impact of BikeRescue in a whole new way.
That new way is licensing. Lately we’ve been working on a program where we train up groups or organisations outside of the Perth metro area, and then offer ongoing remote support and resources to help them deliver BikeRescue in their region.
We applied for the The Australian Ethical funds to help set up a licensing partnership with Pilbara Community Service Ltd (PCSL), a not-for-profit organisation contracted by the Department of Corrective Services to provide reintegration & rehabilitation services in the Pilbara. We'll be running the program up there in two parts. 50% of the program time will go towards train-the-trainer sessions with indigenous adults, where we’ll teach them how to fix bikes, and about the methodology behind BikeRescue. The other 50% will go towards a demo program, where the trained up adults will run a BikeRescue program for local at-risk kids, under the support and guidance of Dismantle staff.
Roebourne is a town doing it really tough. It has recently carried such unglamorous titles in the media as ‘Town of the Damned’ and has become notorious for drug, alcohol and child abuse. There are a lot of people in that town and the wider region, kids and adults alike, who will substantially benefit from BikeRescue. Plus, having a delivery partner embedded in the community will allow for some awesome impact. It’s a really effective way of extending Dismantle’s reach in a sustainable way and we’re excited to get started.
Thanks so much to Australian Ethical, to everyone who voted, and to everyone who’s been working on making the project a reality!