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More than 200 people get their kit off…for a good cause

Text Box: On Thursday the 12th of November, if you were wandering down the streets of the Sydney CBD deciding what you would like to munch on for lunch, you will no doubt have noticed the hundreds of people that swapped their suits for smugglers and their skirts for smugglettes. AIME, (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) along with Australian swimwear company budgy smugglers, bared almost all and asked Sydneysiders to strut the streets with them and raise money to support Indigenous children through high school. The not-for-profit charity provides a six-year Mentoring Program for Indigenous Australian students in an effort to increase year 10, year 12 and university completion rates among the Indigenous population. In 2008 the apparent retention rate from years 7 and 8 to year 10 was 10% lower for Indigenous children when compared to their non-indigenous counterparts. The procession commenced from Martin Place with the 200 odd participants swaggering along in their swimsuits before coming to an end at Circular Quay. After a courageous attempt AIME got very close to breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest swimwear parade but former Playboy beauty Holly Madison who sauntered along the Las Vegas strip in her bikini earlier in year with 280 other women still holds the current title….. There is always next year. The charity has a similar structure to our own IEP, establishing partnerships with large organisations, corporations and Indigenous leaders to help build a sense of community by breaking down social problems and challenging established social norms. In fact one of AIME’s community partners is the Westpac Foundation which is also an IEP affiliate. In the Mentoring Program university student volunteers are joined with a high school Indigenous student, allowing a special relationship to form. Participants then work through the course material alongside their mentors at weekly sessions. The program runs for 17 weeks covering basic skills such as literacy and numeracy as well as other topics including leadership, self-esteem and racism. When AIME began, back in 2005, there were four basic themes, successful Indigenous Australians, hard working positive role models, reconciliation and EDUCATION. We all know knowledge is power, so if knowledge is achieved through education then we believe every child should be given the opportunity to attain the wisdom needed to influence change and bridge the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians.

An interesting read….

When you have a moment, you might be interested in reading some of the attached articles that discuss different indigenous programs and initiatives.

Hopevale to grow Banana’s

Invest in the Cape York solution

Indigenous welfare tough love works

Indigenous backing for Cooktown wind project

Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) is an organisation that IEP and the Alumni are looking to form a future partnership with. Jack Manning– Bancroft is not only the CEO of AIME but has also recently been named in Sydney’s Top 100 most influential people. Jack has also been awarded NSW Young Australian of the Year for 2010.

The Jawun committee is very much looking forward to meeting Jack in January to discuss future opportunities for AIME, IEP and Alumni members to work together. AIME will be expanding next year so this will not only be for our Sydney Alumni members.

Read more below about AIME and some of the activities they are involved in…..