We are extremely grateful for the opportunities that Westpac have given us over several years and we appreciate the benefits gained by the young people who attend our programs at A Taste of Paradise Farm. Westpac is again supporting us with a grant to help with our mentoring costs, especially aimed at training opportunities.
We are very grateful for this direct financial assistance in training our mentors as they undertake Professional Development or learn new farming skills. In the past we have extended our mentor’s understanding of dealing with young people with autism and trauma and would like to continue finding more ways to reach and engage our at-risk and disadvantaged young people. Recently one of our staff was able to update their First Aid Certification and another to gain qualifications in electrical cord tagging. As checking electrical cords needs to be done yearly, this will allow us to complete this task in a timely manner and continue to keep our farm as a safe place.
Continuing our program of training in more farming skills also gives the mentors extra ways to utilize the farm to safely interest and educate the young people.
Last year, Westpac also invited us to participate in their Board of Director mentoring program where a skilled person joined our board meetings to provide us with question-and-answer opportunities. We would like to thank Suzie who joined us in the area of legal and corporate skills and assisted us with some of our documents and procedures. Suzie was a welcome and valuable part of our team.
Thank you, Westpac, for all these opportunities.
