Grant Writing for Young Australian Literature Association (YALA)

⦁ Describe some of your organisation’s major achievements since launching.

Young Australian Literature Association (YALA) is a literature centre which connects young people aged between 8 and 18 years with diverse Australian authors. Being 100% online, with the opportunity of borrowing hard copies for those students unable to access the internet, we use our funds to reach young people in regional and rural areas. YALA offers mentorships, classes and writing programs allowing young people’s stories and perspectives to be nurtured and expressed through the written word. Aspiring authors are given the opportunity to learn, create and engage with writers from disadvantaged, minority, and atypical backgrounds. Since our non-profit opened a year ago, primary school literacy rates for students in year 7 for the 100 schools involved in our programs have increased from the national average of 94% to 97.7%. Since our foundation we have employed 6 additional staff to liaise with schoolteachers and authors, and have added 8 new and emerging writers to our association. By offering diverse writers to the programs our goal is to encourage young people to write, read and share their personal stories and perspectives.

⦁ Outline how you aim to expand operations in the next 12 months if awarded this grant.

If YALA is awarded this generous grant we would be able to extend our reach to more schools and more authors. Our aim is to sign up 50 primary schools to our writing programs, and 80 more high schools. We believe that young people deserve to have their voices and perspectives heard by engaging in writing programs and classes. We will focus on schools in regional, rural and public schools in our major cities that have a higher multicultural and diverse population. Our aim is to employ 4 employees that can help liaise with our teachers and authors. We want our employees to be multilingual, and to offer students a view on the diversity that is common in modern Australia. These employees will need to travel at times for outreach programs, the purpose being that they will help translate reading material and build trust between YALA and aspiring communities.

⦁ How much funding are you requesting? Outline how this funding will assist you in achieving the activities described above.

To achieve maximum effect for our chosen schools and communities we are requesting funding for 4 fulltime employees, at the cost of $60,000 per employee. Mobile and internet communication is a must for these employees and funding should incorporate upgrades to all personal NBN access. In the case of remote access, we hope to expand communications between communities and YALA by allowing signified employees biannual appointments to share information and help grow a richer writing community. We are applying for a total grant of $260,000. This will cover employee wages, upgrades to mobile/computer devices, and travel for 2 employees to rural centres.

⦁ Why is your organisation best placed or most qualified to undertake this expansion?

Our organisation is best qualified to undertake this expansion as YALA offers young people the opportunity to make real connections with emerging, and successful Australian authors. These authors are offering mentorships and experiences that many of these young people would never have previously benefitted from before the founding of the Young Australian Literature Association. Other literature centres offer on-site classes and the occasional author tour, but as YALA offers all classes and programs either pre-recorded for remote access, or via on-line access, we are able to extend our reach to a greater audience. Dislocation from like-minded mentors can leave young people feeling depressed and unwilling to participate in advancing their education. YALA allows these disenfranchised youth to join a community that embraces and champions diversity through their engaging writer’s programs. Progress reports from western Queensland, central Northern Territory and outer western Sydney suburbs have found that young people aged between 13 and 15 enrolled in the YALA writer’s programs have become more engaged in all of their school subjects, with English receiving a 21% attendance increase. Truancy has also reduced across the board and is down by 36% in the past 6 months.

⦁ Describe how your industry will benefit from these activities. Also, describe how the broader Australian community will benefit.

The benefits to the broader Australian community have already been detected by our association over the past 6 months. Truancy has reduced in age brackets identified as some of the highest truants. In a report by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), geolocation was a major contributing factor in school attendance. In 2018 students aged between 12 and 15 attending remote schools were more likely to miss school. In remote areas 63% attended school when compared to 91.3% attending schools in metropolitan areas. Since August 2022 when YALA first engaged with pupils from remote schools, we have found that attendance has increased from 63% to 81%. Benefits to our organisation take the form of a stronger bond with schools and the young people engaged in writer’s programs. The collaboration that exists between our authors and students will profit from having increased access to liaison officers who share language and diversities with many young people. These officers will be able to help with translations, help disabled students access the tools and equipment they require to improve classroom engagement, and strengthen links between remote and rural communities.

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2022). Literacy and numeracy. The Australian Government. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/education/literacy-numeracy

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2018). Spotlight: Attendance matters. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/research-evidence/spotlight/attendance-matters.pdf