As a Work Integrated Social Enterprise (WISE), Collective Leisure is committed to creating employment pathways for marginalised groups, with a particular focus on supporting refugee youth. Our dedication to social impact goes beyond just providing a workplace; we foster a nurturing environment emphasising growth, community, and genuine engagement. 

Collective Leisure was one of five organizations to pitch at the innovative Pitch for Good Parramatta event. Organized by the City of Parramatta and Start Some Good, the initiative aims to empower not-for-profit organizations and social enterprises by helping them generate awareness and secure funding for their impactful projects.

Minds Collective, our new community football initiative, has officially launched at the new synthetic sports field at Perry Park Recreation Centre in Alexandria, with the goal of supporting individuals in their mental health recovery.

This accolade, presented at the National Game Changer Awards, celebrates trailblazers who drive impactful change in the social enterprise sector, recognising those at the forefront of #Business4Good.

We are thrilled to announce that Collective Leisure, a pioneering social enterprise, has earned the esteemed People and Planet First certification. This global verification, stewarded by the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF), recognizes organizations committed to prioritizing environmental sustainability and social impact.

Collective Leisure has won an Australian Sport, Recreation and Play Innovation Award in Melbourne, presented during the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention 2024.

Over the past four months, Collective Leisure have been hosting a weekly pickleball session for Youth Off The Streets in Maroubra. This initiative is part of our broader commitment to community engagement and youth development.

Collective Leisure is honoured to have received the Commendation Award for our Liverpool Seniors Well-being and Social Group in the Community-Based Initiative of the Year category at the 2024 Parks and Leisure Australia Awards of Excellence.

Collective Leisure has been named one of three finalists for the Australian Sport, Recreation and Play Innovation Awards in the Programs and Activities of the year to be held at the National Sports and Physical Activity Convention in on the 27th June 2024.

As a Work Integrated Social Enterprise (WISE) a primary focus of ours is to provide broader societal impacts by supporting young people from refugee backgrounds into employment in the leisure and aquatic industries. Meaningful employment brings many benefits including improved financial, physical and mental well-being, sense of belonging and self-esteem while allowing for more successful integration into the community.

Our aim is to empower and inspire these young people, aged between 18 - 23, by expanding their awareness of all the aspects of life that contribute to the feeling of well-being and how to improve them, often things they are not educated on in their country of origin.

We had the privilege of recently spending 3 weeks delivering our annual Bankstown Senior College Well-being program.

The Liverpool Seniors Well-being and Social Group started back on Tuesday 30th January at Lurnea Community Hub with our regular Gentle Exercise class, an active and engaging physical activity session led by an Exercise Physiologist from our partner organisation Healthstin. The Liverpool Seniors Program runs thrice weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during school term. We have now reached over 90 registered participants in 2024. In 2023 we reached a total of 1222 attendances over 73 sessions.

In an important event that marked a pivotal step towards transforming Western Sydney's physical landscape, Collective Leisure convened the WSYD Moving Symposium on 16th November 2023.

Held at the state-of-the-art Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub (BEST), this Symposium was the first official event at the impressive $100 million facility, championing a cause crucial to the region - the reduction of physical inactivity and inequalities.

The Pasifika community (e.g. Tongan, Samoan, Cook Islanders, Fijian, Maori, Tokelauan, Niuean) residing in Western Sydney face significant health challenges and are at increased risk of conditions like heart disease, renal failure, gout and diabetes. Lifestyle-related behaviours including sedentary behaviour, physical inactivity and nutrition are a significant contributor to these health disparities and access to culturally appropriate and low-cost physical activity programs is limited. Community members need to be thoroughly consulted on what their needs, preferences and barriers are to be more active. 

Collective Leisure - a certified social enterprise renowned for its commitment to societal well-being – has secured the 2023 Parks and Leisure Australia ‘Community-Based Initiative of the Year’ award in recognition of their dedication to community support.

In 2016, my journey into system leadership began during studying a MBAx in Social Impact at UNSW, sparked by an inspiring article titled "The Dawn of System Leadership" by Peter Senge, Hal Hamilton, & John Kania. This article emphasised the need for system leaders to drive collective action to address society's most complex challenges.

Liverpool Active Fest 2023 was a free five-week multisport program designed for teens aged 14-18 with a round robin of three activities aimed to get young people moving in a fun and supported way. Activities provided were entirely free to participants and were followed by a free BBQ as well as voucher giveaways, free sports equipment, shirts and showbags.

Two years ago, I launched a podcast series called Part of the System with the goal to chat with people and organisations that are part of the wider sport and physical activity system across Australia, New Zealand, England and America, through a well-being and systems lens. 

Parks and Leisure acknowledges excellence in the industry through its prestigious Awards of Excellence. This year it awarded Collective Leisure the Community Based Initiative of the year NSW/ACT award.

Congratulations to Merna Yalda and Carmin Yunadam who were both nominated in this years 7News Young Achiever Awards NSW/ACT which recognises, encourages and celebrates the achievements of young people under age 29 throughout Australia.