Ardoch

Ardoch is now closed. Thank you for being part of its journey and helping hundreds of thousands of students to reach their potential. We are please to advise that @EdConnect will be picking up our Education Volunteers and Buddies Programs. They would love to hear from you if you are interested in continuing to support this great work. We will have one more announcement in early 2025 regarding the organisation that is picking up our Writer-, Artist- and Robots-in-Residence, Life Starts and Project Magnify programs, as well as our Pathways programs in regional Victoria. Stay tuned for how more of the Ardoch legacy will continue.

Our 2024 Impact Report is now available for reading. In 2024 we supported 24,294 students aided by 1,028 volunteers. With your support we helped improve children's confidence, aspirations, social skills, wellbeing, and their engagement in education - all elements that have proven to help each student reach their potential. While our impact and operations have remained strong, it has not all been good news. Ardoch has experienced significant financial challenges, which have been brought about by a range of different reasons, some longstanding, some more recent, but not from any wrongdoing. The Board has considered many different options for the organisation’s future but, unfortunately, has decided to wind down the organisation at the end of this year, rather than continue into 2025 and risk further shocks in a constrained fundraising environment. This is not a decision the Board made lightly. It is sad and disappointing news. We were proud to continue delivering all our 2024 programs, as planned, motivated by the desire to have as much impact as possible before we close our doors. The news is especially difficult because the needs have never been higher. https://lnkd.in/gqdnwkRq

Passion, persistence and patience- your career journey might surprise you! Students from Dandenong High soaked up with stories and wisdom from the high performing, passionate and well-rounded leaders of Macpherson Kelley as they immersed themselves in a new office environment and brought their best questions to keep the panel firing. Immaculately organised day and fantastically facilitated by Trisha Ann K., Kelly Dickson and leaders across the business who did nothing less than engage everyone in the room. Grateful for all the energy to make the event one to remember! Shoutout to Dylan Schneeweiss from Ardoch for making this happen with Trisha. 📸 7 Nov 2024, shared by Helena Erck

Kindle Scribe from Amazon? Household goods from Harvey Norman? Magnetic building blocks for the kids? A signed cricket bat? Wow. There’s no auction without goods! Thank you to our corporate partners who have backed us through in-kind donations and shown that partnerships mean truly going on the journey together to make great events happen. Our thanks goes to the likes of Amazon Latitude Financial Services Qantas Carlos Cruz Funds are for the final delivery of programs to schools in 2024.

Want to express your appreciation to someone? Say THANKS with a gift 💝 View products/services- https://lnkd.in/gSAN3H2Q Funds will support final delivery of school programs in 2024. Kylie Weller Kim Berry Lachlan Preston, CVA Suan S. Lisa Jones Alexandra Paleologoudias

A year's worth of Aesop handsoap? Flowers that will last 2025? Get your December shopping done here - https://lnkd.in/gSAN3H2Q Starts TOMORROW! Funds will go towards supporting final school program delivery in 2024. Shop for good! Kim Berry Nick Gabb Jean M. Suan S. Lachlan Preston, CVA Kylie Weller Lisa Jones

The power of volunteering, captured so well by Leila Marimuthu. Grateful for all the wonderful volunteers and programs that were delivered this week! Many children and young people were inspired and touched.

How incredible are these outcomes? Boost engagement and pride in your workplace through a rewarding volunteering experience with Ardoch. Join the likes of Amazon, UBS, Canva, EY and more in a fulfilling journey to impact the lives of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Let’s partner to boost engagement in a meaningful way in 2025! It’s a win for both schools and workplaces 👏🏻 Email info@ardoch.org.au or DM Helena Erck

Reflections from International Day of the Girl (11 Oct 2024). In a Live Q and A hosted by Cummins Asia Pacific, youth representative Sarah Deng shared her experiences as a female studying Computing and Software Systems, co-designing Ardoch's STEM program for schools (Robots in Residence) and being President of Robogals Melbourne (a student-led non-profit that aims to inspire girls to pursue engineering). This Q and A was facilitated by Helena Erck who shared how Ardoch's Robots in Residence and Numeracy Buddies Programs gives students a chance to build confidence and problem-solving skills in STEM-related activities early on, so females can be included in these opportunities during their formative years. Speaker and CEO Kerri Buttery shared insights on what digital literacy means. Being born in a digital era doesn't automatically mean we, including young people, have digital literacy. eg. If young people are phone savvy, it doesn't necessarily mean they know how to manage their safety online, perform in remote job interviews or innovate using technology. That's why it's important to encourage exposure to opportunities that enable young people to engage in building their digital literacy, early on, to empower all genders with the ability to voice their interest in tech-related fields. We'd like to acknowledge the work of Ardoch's Partners in this space: UBS' Women in Tech Initiative, Canva's vision board workshops, and Amazon's immersion days that give students a chance to pitch solutions for positive social media experiences. We are deeply grateful to our Premier Partner, Cummins Asia Pacific, and Annie Chu for the opportunity to unite great minds on such an important topic and working with Ardoch to increase engagement in the education of children and youth. #LetsGetDigital #InternationalDayoftheGirl #youtheducation #digitaleducation #digitalliteracy #onlinesafety #digitalinnovation

100% of individuals find volunteering with us rewarding! .. and the benefits to organisations are undeniable- 🌠85% of volunteers agreed that participating in the program made them feel proud about working at their organisation, and 🌠69% of volunteers agreed that they feel more engaged with their workplace! 💡 "I never knew I could learn so much from 10yr olds. I also didn’t expect that having lunch with them would be a highlight of 2024." - Corporate Partnerships Manager. 🔴 Could you donate 1-2 hours to – have a networking lunch with kids? Coach a young person through a practice interview? Scroll down and see what’s available – Could it even be an excuse for a bit of travel to somewhere different, like Geelong, using your allocated volunteer hours? 🌠Learning Through Lunch, Geelong **15 October 12.20pm - 1.30pm at Davidson Restaurant **28 October 11.50am - 1pm at, Davidson Restaurant 🌠Speed Careers Melbourne – South East **22 October 2024 9:00am- 10:30am at River Gum Primary School, Hampton 🌠Speed Careers Melbourne – North West **28 October 2024 11am - 1pm at Wyndham Park Primary School 🌠Mock Interviews Melbourne – North West **30 October 2024 1pm – 3.15pm at Sunshine College (West Campus) 📲 If you're not around Melbourne, consider any clients/friends who you think could be a positive force for children and share the opportunities please! Email workplacevolunteers@ardoch.org.au or message Suan S.. Finish 2024 with purpose! ✨