Souths Cares, the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL club's independent charity, has joined forces with public transport company Transdev to support Sydney's Indigenous youth.
The two-year partnership will see young Aboriginal people from southern and western Sydney communities supported with capacity-building programs across domains of education, employment and health.
Souths Cares program participants will also receive opportunities to engage with Transdev when considering further education and employment decisions whilst at school, as well as taking part in Transdev and Souths Cares community events.
Souths Cares chief executive Alisha Parker-Elrez said the opportunity to partner with Tranzdev was exciting for her organisation and will have a positive impact on the lives of young people in Sydney's outer regions.
"Everyone at Souths Cares is thrilled about this partnership with Transdev," she said.
"We know it'll make a difference to the lives of many participants in our existing and future programs."
The partnership between Souths Cares and Transdev involves the pair championing community events and programs such as the recent Education and Wellbeing Expo and Souths Cares' upcoming end-of-year Indigenous celebrations.
Ms Parker-Elrez said Tranzdev's commitment to Indigenous youth both locally and nationwide made partnering with the greater western Sydney public transport operator an easy decision.
"We teamed up with Transdev because of their commitment to the community, not only locally but right across the country," she said.
"They've shown they're genuine in providing opportunities and experiences for our program participants.
"Transdev was front and centre at our Education and Wellbeing Expo and will help put smiles on people's faces throughout the Christmas period at our Souths Cares NAIDOC end-of-year celebrations."
First established in 2006, the Souths Cares charity has built upon the Rabbitohs' long and proud history of supporting the community, in particular Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
Transdev Australasia chief executive Luke Agati said supporting First Nations peoples in communities in which Transdev operate was important to the organisation.
"This is about cultural respect, deepening relationships and supporting self-determination of First Nations Australian youth and their families," Mr Agati said.
"This is a practical and meaningful step towards advancing reconciliation, whilst promoting sustainable employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across our businesses.
"We move people every day on public transport right across Sydney and we also want to be a positive influence in those local communities that we serve."
Transdev will support program participants in multiple ways through mentoring, training and offering career pathways within the organisation whilst also delivering on-site visits, talks and community events.
Mr Agati said Transdev's community support model is based on an ethos of providing equal opportunities to the community by valuing people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
"Our overriding goal is do social and economic good in the communities in which we work, serve and learn," he said.
"It's why we're dedicated to progressing our commitments under our Reconciliation Action Plan as well as advancing our diversity, equity and inclusion aspirations."
"We're thrilled and honoured to partner with South Cares to co-create and deliver a range of programs and activities to increase heath, training and career prospects of many First Peoples of Australia."
The Souths Cares partnership with Transdev joins the charity's existing support programs for Indigenous youth including the Deadly Youth Mentoring, Barranggirra and Nanga mai Marri (Dream Big) programs.
