Community Focus:

The kitchen at Ballarat Secondary College is alive with action on the days when the fusion team breeze in.

One of the reasons Fusion is so effective as an organisation is that it works directly with communities. In Ballarat, Australia, Fusion is supported financially by a group called Ballarat Community Fund, a United Way organisation affiliate. They have taken up the cause and actively go out to seek funding for a number of groups including Fusion.

The Fusion Team:

In Ballarat, the Fusion core is made up of Wendy, Steve and their daughter Sinead. They are well known by many young people in the town. As an organisation, Fusion focuses on young people. They provide support and direction especially to those who may be having some trouble in their lives. A range of support programs are provided. Along with a group of volunteers drawn from groups in the community that include churches and community groups, the core Fusion team reach out to try and make a difference to the lives of the young people they work with. As some of the "unsung" heroes in our community, their efforts pass many without a blink.

Community Recognition:

From time to time, they do get a little more recognition. In 1999 for instance, the group was awarded the Michael Ronaldson Community Service Award. It is these small things at the local level that recognise the importance of the little things in life that add up to make such big differences.

Local support:

Steve and Sinead are part of a team who help to develop a sense of community in the students at Ballarat Secondary College. Sinead's performances at the school assemblies are a treat.

At Ballarat Secondary College, Steve, Wendy, Sinead and a band of willing volunteers rock along to the East Campus every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning around 8 am and prepare breakfast for those hungry students who turn up.

The aim of this program is to make a difference to the lives of young people in our community. Young men and women who can often feel a sense of alienation from the activities that are around them. The Fusion crew work through school but are not seen as threatening. The partnership that exists between them is important in students being able to feel supported and have somewhere to turn for support.

Why Breakfast?