True Blue Dreaming

Applecross Rotary has supported True Blue Dreaming for several years. True Blue Dreaming, is committed to supporting and strengthening young lives in rural and remote Australian communities. Their programs have been successfully delivered in the Wheatbelt, Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia since 2004. True Blue Dreaming Inc. is a registered not for profit charity. Applecross Rotary has donated to True Blue Dreaming Inc. to support ongoing mentoring programs in the WA wheatbelt towns of Bruce Rock and Wyalkatchem.

The mentors typically are University students often from a rural background. The mentoring programs are based on a 12-month contract between participants. Mentoring of young students has been shown to raise school attendance and completion, support transition from school to further training and employment and to help young people to feel better connected to their school and their peers and generally raise their self-esteem.
 
 
Applecross Rotary donated $10,000 to True Blue Dreaming Inc in the 2016-17 and again in the 2017-18 Rotary years to support ongoing mentoring programs in the WA wheatbelt towns of Bruce Rock and Wyalkatchem. The funding covered some of the costs of mentors, who travel to the towns and of mentees visits to Perth institutions. These are established programs with strong anecdotal evidence of the benefits to the mentees. The programs are strongly supported by the mentees schools.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bruce Rock District High School Deputy Principal Janice Dayman and School Liaison Officer
 

Bruce Rock District High School Deputy Principal Janice Dayman spoke at an Applecross Rotary meeting in September 2018 and reported that all the High School students have a Perth based mentors. The students generally have the same mentor for the four years of High School. The mentoring program assists student’s personal growth and their academic achievements.

The school’s community liaison officer Karen Strange who also spoke and said that they has noticed a lift in the self-confidence of the mentored students. A recent independent evaluation of the program showed that the High School students and local community had benefitted from the mentoring program.