The Pulse

MYOB is demonstrating our ongoing commitment to making people’s lives easier by donating time, staff resources and money to the Raise Foundation.

The charity provides mentoring programs for youths facing profound challenges in their lives, such as mental health, substance misuse and sexual health issues. It has made 500+ mentor matches since establishing in 2009.

MYOB has donated more than $20,000 to the Ismo program (In School Mentoring Opportunity) and several staff members have volunteered to mentor students from JJ Cahill Memorial High School in Mascot, New South Wales. 14 staff undertook an accredited TAFE Outreach professional mentoring course, and nine of these are continuing on to work with one mentee each over two school terms.

CEO Tim Reed said, “Some of the youth statistics we’ve learned during our time with Raise Foundation are deeply concerning. For example, suicide is the leading cause of death amongst 14 to 25 year olds in Australia and we have the fourth highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Western world.”

“MYOB is privileged to assist Raise’s efforts to turn these trends around. The Ismo program enables mentees to focus on identifying and achieving goals, and provides a nurturing pathway for support through tough times.

“Some young people are looking for guidance and encouragement from trustworthy role models who offer a listening ear and who genuinely care about them. Our staff mentors are delighted to be those support people and are impressed with Raise’s ambitious targets. They also appreciate the opportunity to further develop their coaching and mentoring skills.

“I urge any business team, small or large, to consider getting involved with community support programs like Raise. It makes such a big difference to the lives of those receiving the help.  The personal reward and satisfaction your staff will feel in making a positive impact on another person, sometimes to an entire family, is priceless.”

Raise Foundation CEO, Vicki Condon said, “Our community involvement partnership with MYOB is making a huge tangible difference in the lives of our mentees, and we are sincerely grateful for their generous support of our organisation. We know the MYOB staff mentors will make a significant impact because we have seen that having a neutral positive role model listen to a young person, and actually hear what they are saying, often makes all the difference when they are struggling in tough times.”

“This partnership model creates valuable life skills and extraordinary experiences for all involved, from the mentee, the school, the employee, the company and the community as a whole.”

How does your business make a difference in the community?