The Spark Fund 2007

The Spark Fund financially supports young people aged 12-25 years to 'Ignite an innovative idea' which makes a positive contribution to the community and enhances their skills and experiences.  Applications are open all year.

Round 4 - November 2007

Kerestina Abdelmalak, 22, & Sarah Norcott, 19, Campbelltown

To deliver an aerosol art program that aims to deter young people from public illegal vandalism.

Awarded $2,000

Sadim Al Keffai, 18, Whittlesea

To run a summer holiday program for newly arrived Iraqi young people aged 8-16 years, settling in the City of Whittlesea.

Awarded $3,850

Melissa Bartle, and group, aged 20 to 25, Dalby

To host a drug and alcohol free event for young people of Dalby and Darling Downs, as part of Youth Week in April 2008.

Awarded $5,000

Matthew Bowen, 21, Glenmore Park

To run a volunteer program for disadvantaged schools in the region. 

Awarded $5,000

Katie Burchett, and group aged 14 to 22, Molong

To encourage and support young people to attend the St. John Ambulance Western Region Youth Camp at Broken Hill in April 2008.

Awarded $5,000

Elizabeth Cahill, 24, Coogee

To run a youth futures dreaming weekend for 25 young people who are developing projects for a positive world future.

Awarded $5,000

Keiran Clancy, 15, Mount Stuart

To create a student youth band to perform to primary and high schools around the region.

Awarded $5,000

Keiran Dennis, 21, Upwey

To run a song writing program for young musicians in the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Awarded $3,475

Jessica Eastland, 18, Nannup

To run a series of youth focussed events to coincide with the annual Nannup Music Festival, to be held in March 2008.

Awarded $3,000

Cate Foran and group aged 22 to 25, Brisbane

To produce and distribute a multimedia publication showcasing locally produced art works by young people in Brisbane.

Awarded $5,000

Cody Gillard, 12
To install recreational facilities for young people at Bemm River Recreational Reserve.
Awarded $5,000

Bryce Ives and Georgia Webster, both 24, Melbourne

To set up a radio partnership program with two Timor Community Radio Stations in order to foster relationships of goodwill and knowledge between East Timor and Australia.

Awarded $4,700

Hayden Ives, and group aged 16 to 17, Devonport

To plan and build ‘The Mud Brick Café’ within the Devonport Community Garden.

Awarded $4,768

John Nichol, 23, Edgeworth

To construct a sound recording studio to run hip-hop and CD production workshops for disengaged young men aged 13-25 years.

Awarded $5,000

Damien Ryan, 23, Maribyrnong

To produce and promote ‘The Love Bunker’, a sex and relationship television program to be aired on Channel 31 during 2008.

Awarded $4,850

Scott Star-Oliphant, 17, Parkville

To produce ‘Morning Mayhem’, a six-week variety hour television program to be aired on Channel 31 in January 2008.

Awarded $3,000

Luke Van Duin, and group aged 17 to 19 years, Wollongong

To develop an engaging gardening program for residents, staff and volunteers of ‘My Place’.

Awarded $4,000

Round 3 - August 2007     

Kiran Atmuri, 22, VIC

Kiran and a group of young people will develop free web sites for non-profit youth organisations.

Amount $5,000

Pippa Bainbridge, 24, WA

To support the Toodyay Youth Arts Festival from 29th to 30th September 2007.

Amount $5,000

Kym Begg, 16, and group, SA,

To run The Salon, an open-mic, open-stage event for young performing artists beginning September 2007.

Amount $4,156

David Easteal, 20, ACT

To produce a short film for the 2008 Tropfest film festival.

Amount $5,000

David Finnigan, 24, and group, ACT

To deliver interactive theatre performances to secondary schools in Canberra.

Amount $4,978

Gabriel Foley, 21, and group, QLD

To produce a six episode television show called The Big Muddy, for community TV.

Amount $5,000

Jasmin Ford, 21, QLD

to host a free eight week Urban Hip Hop Dance and Music program for young people in Mt Gravatt.

Amount $5,000

Gabriel Gerich, 23, VIC

To host a series of forums and a workshops to address intergenerational issues in the Sudanese community.

Amount $5,000

Lawrence Gino, 19, and group, TAS

To develop a showcase of young African musicians in Hobart.

Amount $4,320

Mark Hodder, 24, and group, NSW

Will hold an outdoor youth art exhibition in Cronulla May 2008.

Amount $5,000

Jasmina Kevric, 21, VIC

To produce a youth led magazine for young refugees in the City of Greater Dandenong.

Amount $5,000

Tyson Mackenzie, 17, SA

To run Cinema Under The Cosmos, a free social weekend film event for young people in the region.

Amount $4,500

Alex Masso, 25, NSW

Alex will host a festival of jazz music performances and workshops for young musicians in the Illawarra and Wollongong areas.

Amount $5,000

Matthew Potter, 21, NSW

To produce an innovative online music directory and networking portal jam-link.com.

Amount $3,000

James Reade, 17, VIC

To develop an after-school music and activity night at the local YMCA.

Amount $5,000

Jason Stiles, 15, and group, VIC

To restore retired bicycles for donation to migrant families in Wangaratta.

Amount $2,257

Matthew Vale, 24, QLD

To set up an experimental exhibition organisation that will support and create opportunities for local, emerging and student artists in Brisbane.

Amount $1,893

Cara Williams, 20, VIC

Cara will produce a free quarterly magazine called SYNK that will highlights the talents and achievements of young people from the City of Moonee Valley.

Amount $5,000

Round 2 - May 2007

Elly Badman & Group, SA                               

This award will go toward the purchase of equipment for a group of high school aged musicians who will teach and mentor music to primary school students who may not have access to instrumental tuition due to financial hardship, a dysfunctional family situation, or other personal hardships.
Amount $5,000

Fran Barrett & Brown Council Group, 23 – 25, NSW 

This award will enable Brown Council, an emerging performance ensemble, to perform their work, Six Minute Soul Mate, at the 2008 Next Wave Festival. Their performance examines the rituals and the experience of courtship in an increasingly globalised society, questioning ‘speed dating’ and its ability to bring people closer together. This project, and the opportunity to perform in a national festival, will enable the four members of Brown Council to build relationships, exchange ideas, develop new skills and support other young artists. 
Amount $5,000

Aileen Bautista, 24, NSW

This award will enable Aileen to run a secondary school program on the opportunities available to students on completion of their higher school certificate.  The program, titled O Week, aims to educate and empower young people aged 16 -18 when making choices for their future.  O Week will see guest speakers from professional fields come together to discuss and answer students’ questions about pathways after high-school.  A booklet containing contact details and inspirational stories will also be developed for O Week.

Amount $5,000

Emily Blyth & The Earthsharing Team, 23, VIC

This award will go towards production of an interactive environmental game to be presented to secondary schools in Australia.  The game aims to educate students on environmental sustainability issues, and in turn encourage students to explore ways to improve on this relationship.
Amount $2,000

Tabitha Brewer, 16, WA

With this award Tabitha will develop and deliver a drug and alcohol free Friday night activity for young people aged 12 to 18.  The ongoing weekly activity will involve a community member teaching cooking skills to young people, followed by a shared social dinner and entertainment on Friday evenings.
Amount $4,100

Ashley Burgess & the twentypastfour productions team, 24, NSW

This award will enable Ashley and the twentypastfour productions team, a small dance collective of tertiary students, to tour regional NSW with a series of workshops and performances in youth oriented dance composition and performance. The project aims to enrich the performing arts culture for young people in regional areas, inspire creativity, improve the sense of cultural identity, and foster support for the endeavours of youths in the performing arts.
Amount $4,760 

Caroline Bush, 24, WA                              

This award will enable Caroline to plan and coordinate The Wheatbelt Dance Festival in October 2008. The festival aims are to encourage and provide an opportunity for youth to develop creativity and confidence, to help emerging dancers/artists in the rural community, to promote arts in the country and careers for youth in dance, and to promote the Wheatbelt region to youth.  
Amount $5,000

Michael Connell, 24, VIC                             

With this award, Michael will run a stand up comedy tour of the Yarra Ranges area.  The comedy tour, titled The Young Blood Tour, will feature professional stand up comedians as well as local emerging comedians in four performances during September 2007.  The Young Blood Tour will be smoke, alcohol and drug free.

Amount $5,000
 

Melissa Daniels & Group, 22, QLD                           

This award will enable Melissa and the ‘Tannum Sands State High School Human Powered Vehicle Team’ to develop and build two hand-powered Human Powered Vehicles and race them in the annual Maryborough Technology Challenge 24 Hour Endurance Race in 2007. This project will involve eight Secondary students with physical disabilities, providing them with an opportunity to develop leadership, communication and organisational skills, increase their fitness and self-esteem, and raise awareness and educate the community about the barriers as well as abilities of people with disabilities.    

Amount $4,000
 

Amy Garden, 19, ACT                            

This award will enable Amy to run a social program aimed at young people living with a sibling who has a disability. 

The program aims to improve young peoples’ understanding of living with a person with a disability, and increase their independence, self-confidence, and social identity.  The program will be delivered over a three day camping experience held in the Canberra area.
Amount $5,000

 David Heathwood & Group, 25, WA                            

This award will enable David to run an educational photo publishing program for young people who will develop a newsletter for other young people in the region.  The photo publishing program will be a series of technical workshops using digital cameras and computer publishing tools.  These workshops will work towards developing an informative and creative newsletter highlighting positive youth achievements in the area.   

The program aims to encourage and engage young people, develop skills and positive relationships with the community, and to alleviate boredom.
Amount $5,000

Helen Huynh & Group, 20 - 24, VIC                               

This award will enable Helen and group, through their Voicebox Radio programme on 3CR, to research and publish a book titled Self Portrait, which will showcase the talents and skills of young Vietnamese women. The book will confront the politically charged issues of culture and conflict, identity and resolution. The project will enable young Vietnamese women to express themselves through writing and radio, giving them a voice, not often heard in the community, and enabling them to be portrayed realistically and to participate more fully in the public arena.  
Amount $5,000

Joe Ransom & Paul Randle, 23 & 24, VIC                            

With this award, Joe and Paul will deliver a free after school music tuition program at Mt Erin secondary college. 

The tuition will involve ten weeks of basic guitar lessons in a social atmosphere.  In each lesson young people will have access to acoustic guitars, and the teachings of accomplished local musicians from the area.
Amount $4,495

Shane Sanfilippo & Luis Rivera, 20, VIC                              

This award will enable Shane and Luis to provide an outlet for youth in their community to express themselves through the development of short plays on subject matters relevant to the young people. Young people will assist in writing, producing and performing in the plays, enabling them to gain skills in writing, direction, management and mentoring. The project aims to inspire disadvantaged youth, highlighting positive choices rather than engaging in drugs/alcohol and other anti-social behaviour, as well as to encourage artistic skills in the community.
Amount $5,000

Emma Sharman & the Dreamettes, 15 - 17,  VIC                              

This award will enable Emma and the Dreamettes to document, record and produce a documentary film about the journey of a group of 18 Indigenous young females from Robinvale, titled No More Shame. The project aim is to reach out to as many youth as possible, to have a voice and talk about the issue of shame that is a barrier to opportunity for many Indigenous youths.
Amount $5,000

Jessica Smithett & Group, 23 – 25,  VIC    
This award will go towards research the potential impact of the proposed ‘Graffiti Prevention Draft Exposure Bill’ on young graffiti artists in the city of Stonnington.  The findings of this research will be shared with the community through a five night performance and visual art exhibition, created and developed by the young artists engaged in the research. The aim of the project is to increase community awareness of graffiti culture and inform young artists of the current laws, the proposed bill, and alternate ways to express their artwork, legally. 
Amount $5,000

Elise Stewart & Sarah McLeod, 20 & 19, QLD                          

This award will enable Elise and Sarah to establish a youth performance ensemble called Fire Worx, which through collaborative workshops will work towards a final performance piece to be included in the Swell Sculpture Festival Closing Ceremony 2007. The project will provide young people with the opportunity to express themselves creatively, and be involved in a project from idea conception to final product. It is hoped that the performance will create a sense of community togetherness and celebration of the surrounding environment as told by younger generations. 
Amount $5,000

Lauren Wapling & Group, 24, NT                              

This award will enable Lauren to deliver a drumbeat music therapy program to remote Kintore Aboriginal youth.  The drumbeat music therapy is an intensive drum workshop that aims to connect students in a group, and essentially build their self-esteem and disciplinary skills, as well as their social and communicative skills.
Amount $5,000

Round 1 - February 2007
 

Michelle Anderson, 24, WA

The purpose of this grant is to contribute funding to enable Michelle to develop and perform the show ‘Hope is the Saddest’ as part of the Blue Room’s theatre season in Perth in June 2007. The show targets audiences 16 – 25 and provokes questions about identity and delusion in a way that increases awareness and motivates change. The play will provide skills, employment and exposure for young Western Australian artists.

Amount $4,928 

Saber Baluch, 18, NSW

This award will assist Saber to run Australia’s first refugee film festival in Sydney’s Western Suburbs in June 2007.  The festival will educate others on the triumphs and experiences of refugees coming to Australia, and host several films, including Saber’s own film production ‘Taking Flight’.  The festival will include significant involvement from refugees in the film making process and skills workshops.

Amount $4,981

Travis Barnes and Luke Webb, 22, VIC             

The purpose of this grant is to contribute funding to enable Travis and Luke to develop their ‘Thrust’ Program which will promote the benefits of pursuing a career in science to students in 12 high schools in the Goldfields region, to take place from April 2007 – April 2008. Travis and Luke will also undertake research, and produce a publicly available report into the contributing factors to the poor uptake in Science related studies at a tertiary level.  The report aims to impact change across the nation in the way science is approached and taught.

Amount $5,000

Sharna Chenery and Hollie Sheath, 20 & 22, NSW

The purpose of this grant is to contribute funding to enable Sharna and Hollie to set up a resource library within the Sydney and Central division of CanTeen (The Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer), that will provide its members with an understanding of the different aspects of living with cancer.  It is hoped that the library will help support and empower members through the provision of such things as coping skills, relaxation techniques and inspirational stories.

Amount $5,000 

Nathaniel Delaney, 15, SA

With this award Nathaniel will work with Mission Australia to establish a peer support group for young people dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, stress, alcoholism, and home troubles.  The group will run weekly from June 2007 to June 2008 and will involve leadership, communication, team, and self esteem building workshops, as well as a monthly recreational activity.  The project will also include a peer leadership group who will receive professional mentor and facilitation training.  The aim of the group is to encourage young attendees in new services and meaningful participation in community, ultimately increasing their quality of life.

Amount $4,850

Fiona Duce, 24, QLD

The purpose of this award is to assist Fiona and others from Caloundra City Youth Partnership drive ‘Know Your Neighbour’, a campaign designed to give service back to the community and create positive differences. The campaign will focus on three areas; by developing the life skills of young people in the community; nurturing relationships between the elderly and community organisations; and addressing global environmental issues of energy and water conservation.

Amount $4,500

Fiona Finlayson, 25, VIC

This award will enable Fiona, along with a committee of young people, to run the “Challenge Walk Marathon” event in October 2007.  The event will target University students and new graduates, with an aim to raise money for 5 community organisations, and promote youth involvement in charitable organisations and innovative community projects.

Amount $5,000 

Angela Frost, 23, VIC

The purpose of this grant is to contribute funding to enable Angela to deliver 3 weeks of circus workshops and training to young people in the remote Arnhem land community of Wugularr;   building towards a public performance in the 2007 Walking with Spirits festival in July 2007. The aim of the workshops is to increase health, wellbeing, and self esteem, as well as provide a point of connection for elders and young people in the community.

Amount $5,000

Ariane Garner-Williams and Tess Karambelas, 15, VIC

This award is to assist Ariane and Tess, members of the Cerebral Palsy Support Network, to set up a support group; ‘Access all Areas’ for adolescents with cerebral palsy and similar physical disabilities. The group will hold monthly social outings, with the aim to encourage members’ skills development and self-assurance to access the community, and engage in activities as independently as possible.

Amount $4,650

Joel Howlett, 17, NSW

Joel will use this award to implement the ‘Healing of Magic” magic therapy program, which involves the teaching of simple magic to young people with physical and learning disabilities. Joel hopes through his show/workshop package he will increase the skills and self-esteem of young participants, as well as elevate the art of magic in the community.

Amount $793

Rick Loxton, 19, QLD

The purpose of this grant is to enable Rick, and a committee of young people, to host ‘Blast Beats’, a drug and alcohol free community event to be held in April 2007.  ‘Blast Beats’ is a free event that will feature the talents of local young people in the community and promote active and positive involvement, as well as provide young people with the opportunity to develop skills in event and project management.

Amount $4,000

Louisa Magrics, 16, NSW

The funding will assist Louisa, along with the ‘Cessnock Youth Entertainment Committee’ to stage live music events for the youth community.  They will also conduct a mini tour of the outer rural areas of Cessnock in order to promote and recruit young people’s involvement in the creation of and staging of these events.

Amount $4,700

Ken McLean and Adlena Dignam, 22 & 17, VIC

This award will assist Ken and Adlena to stage a national youth conference in October 2007 to help bring together youth media makers from around the country to share ideas, facilitate training and professional development, and to network with like-minded young people. Conference events will be aimed at giving young people better access to and more involvement in community media, and help them gain self-confidence, empowerment, leadership, and management skills.

Amount $4,900   

Matthew Prest, 25, NSW

The purpose of this grant is to contribute funding to enable Matthew and a committee of young emerging artists to develop ‘The Tent’ – a contemporary theatre work that incorporates performance, puppetry, video and installation art under a freestanding self-made tent. The theatrical piece explores themes of responsibility and dependence and will premiere at the Next Wave Youth Arts Festival in Melbourne in May 2008. The aim of the project is to develop skills and increase opportunities and exposure for young emerging artists.

Amount $5,000   

Joanna Redestowicz, 23, NSW

This award will assist Joanna in developing and facilitating a 10 week art program for young people who are suffering/recovering from eating disorders. The program will culminate in an exhibition during National Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week in September 2007. The project aims to raise awareness and understanding of eating disorders, provide young sufferers with new skills and confidence through art therapy, and establish a replicable model for the EDF in NSW.

Amount $2,500

Michael Sollis, 21, ACT

This award will assist Michael in establishing a mentoring chamber music ensemble in the ACT district, and to take this ensemble to conduct workshop-style performances in schools in the ACT.  The project will encourage interaction between musicians and students, in order to promote new music, an interest in performance and composition, and the development of high quality chamber music in Canberra.

Amount $5,000 

Seeham Zoghaib, 25, and Group, VIC

This award will go towards Seeham and other group members to develop and implement an Australian-Lebanese Community Youth Festival in April 2007 to celebrate Australian-Lebanese culture in a positive light and promote cultural diversity and harmony. The event will provide young people with an opportunity to express themselves, and to be engaged in a positive initiative that develops skills in leadership and project management.

Amount $5,000