Making Tracks is a part of ING DIRECT’s Dreamstarter initiative which provides funding support to selected StartSomeGood campaigns. Dreamstarter is ING DIRECT’s way of getting behind some of Australia’s most inspiring go-getters who are eager to make
a positive change in Australian communities. Learn more about Dreamstarter at our website.
Making Tracks
Making Tracks is an initiative to provide young unemployed people with an opportunity to learn new skills, contribute to the community and appreciate being part of the workforce.
Our first 'youth transition service' project is to employ young people as museum ninjas to help operate "Escape the Museum" activities at the Australian Scout Museum on weekends at Newington Armory.
If successful our aim is to ramp up the activity to a 7 day a week operation to cater for a growing tourist demand which will allow us to employ more young people. Our subsequent aim will be to publish an operational model that could be copied and adopted
by any community anywhere to inspire other communities to provide positive social impact for their youth.
"You are a genius!"
Mark Boyle, the volunteer manager of the museum, runs "Escape the Museum" type of activity programs during the school holidays for Sydney Olympic Park Authority's "Kids In The Park" holiday program.
While participating as a student in the School of Social Entrepreneurs - Bankstown Change Makers course Mark was inspired to experiment by 'hiring' a young unemployed man to help operate the activity workshops.
On the last workshop a child told the young man that the young man was "a genius!".
Mark then wanted to employ more young unemployed geniuses.
Employing more young unemployed people means more activity workshops can be run which means more benefit to the community especially socially isolated autistic and aspergers children.
Changing the Track to make tracks
Social isolation is a hidden problem with potentially significant negative health and mental health impacts on individuals and families.
Sometimes all it requires is someone to change the junction points in a person's life for them to go on a different track and that person can do the rest. This is what happened to Mark when he was a young unemployed person.
Through 18 years of blood, sweat and tears Mark has identified simple yet effective mechanisms which offers opportunities to connect people in the community and have fun. These discoveries have been implemented into the operation of the "Escape the Museum"
activity programs and provide an excellent employment and up-skilling opportunity to allow youth to transition to other employment opportunities.
The outcome is the Making Tracks initiative but we cannot do it without your help.
