Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt today presented a Lotterywest cheque of $999,200 to Glass Jar Australia to continue and expand their successful Shooting Stars program.
Glass Jar Australia was established in 2015 and its Shooting Stars program is an initiative of Netball Western Australia that aims to use netball as a vehicle to encourage greater attendance at school for Aboriginal girls living in remote communities and regional towns.
The Lotterywest grant will support salaries, professional fees, project costs and vehicles to support the evaluation and expansion of activities that support Aboriginal girls to improve their health, wellbeing and educational outcomes.
The Shooting Stars program is working to address the gap between school attendance rates of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. The program was established in 2014 as a pilot in Halls Creek. It now reaches over 350 girls in seven schools across WA.
Since 2017 the State Government through Lotterywest has approved two grants to Glass Jar Australia Limited totalling $1,115,456, inclusive of this grant.
As stated by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt:
“Addressing the gaps in education between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal is one of the key ways we can improve the lives of Aboriginal Western Australians and I congratulate Netball WA and Glass Jar Australia for this fantastic initiative which is making a real difference.
“This grant will enable the project to expand to other locations building on their good work.
“This project can have a transformative effect on young people’s lives and I wish it all the very best for the future.”
