RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels ‘Stand Up for Youth’

Mission Australia partner, RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels, took some time out of their busy training schedule recently to visit some of Mission Australia’s programs and services.

In May, players, Gareth Delve, Richard Kingi, Adam Byrnes and Tom Chamberlain enjoyed the flavours and delights of Mission Australia’s social enterprise restaurant, Charcoal Lane.

In Melbourne’s Fitzroy, Charcoal Lane serves high-quality modern and native Australian cuisine and aims to give disadvantaged youth the opportunity to train in hospitality and pursue careers in the industry.

“We really enjoyed our visit to the restaurant. We did a tour of the kitchen, met the staff and then enjoyed a beautiful three course lunch. All the food was amazing but our favourite dish was definitely the kangaroo,” said Richard Kingi.

In addition to the Charcoal Lane visit, several players invited some of the participants from Mission Australia’s ‘Stand Up for Youth’ programs to watch a training session and have a short tour of Visy Park.

Seven young people took up the opportunity and they were not disappointed, with the players showing off their skills throughout the session.

Following training, the players had a brief chat with the participants about how hard they’ve worked to pursue their rugby dreams and achieve their goals – encouraging the participants to set themselves goals and continue to work hard to achieve them.

Mission Australia’s ‘Stand Up for Youth’ programs equip young people with the skills and resilience they need to make positive choices in their lives. We provide support to youth experiencing issues with drug and alcohol abuse, family breakdown, unemployment, homelessness and mental illness.

Image: RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels players with Mission Australia’s ‘Stand Up for Youth’ participants.