Link Wentworth Housing has been awarded $25,000 in grant funding through ANZ’s Community Foundation to fund their ‘Ready2Work in Hospitality Program for Social Housing Residents’. Delivered in partnership with Darcy Street Project, the program aims to train and empower social housing residents with work-ready skills so they can achieve their goals and maintain permanent employment.
The Ready2Work program will recruit 25 working-aged Link Wentworth residents who are interested in a career in hospitality. Over two months, participants will obtain a wide variety of skills and certifications, along with 50 hours of work experience on site at the Darcy Street Café in Macquarie Park.
“We’re really excited to bring this program to life and offer tangible, life-changing skills to our residents,” says Link Wentworth CEO Andrew McAnulty.
“Link Wentworth is not only passionate about providing homes to those who need it, but also about providing opportunities for people to take control of their own future.
“Thank you to the ANZ Community Foundation for making this important program possible.”
The Ready2Work program is not only focused on employment skills for young people, but also offers helpful life skills and community involvement. Participants will gain a barista certification, attend four full-day food security workshops run by Link Wentworth and complete a financial counselling course.
As part of their work with Darcy Street Project, participants will also prepare ready-made meals for fellow Link Wentworth tenants who have recently exited homelessness. Darcy Street Project is a Sydney-based social enterprise that seeks to break the cycle of disadvantage by providing hospitality training to those who experience unemployment, social exclusion and/or housing stress.
“We’re honoured to work with Link Wentworth on this initiative and are so grateful for ANZ’s financial support,” says Darcy Street Project CEO John Cafferatta.
“Darcy Street Project has had the privilege of working with Link Wentworth on a number of occasions—most recently in preparing and distributing meals to their clients who are experiencing homelessness during COVID-19. We always relish the opportunity to collaborate with a like-minded, community focused organisation such as theirs.”
The ANZ Community Foundation is funded by ANZ’s workplace giving program and has distributed 900 grants since 1988. In 2021, 16 grants were awarded across Australia, with Link Wentworth one of only three in New South Wales to secure the funding.
The ‘Ready2Work in Hospitality Program for Social Housing Residents’ is open to Link Wentworth Housing tenants across the organisation’s portfolio who are working aged. Link Wentworth will begin recruiting for participants in November 2021.
For more information or to enquire, please call 9412 5111 or email communities@linkwentworth.org.au.
Link Wentworth wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which we work and pay our respect to the Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.