Grant #21 - Eat up

With the generous help and lunch-making skills of a dedicated army of volunteers, Eat Up makes and deliver thousands of lunches a month to schools around Australia.

Eat Up is responsible for making and delivering over 550,000 lunches to schools around metropolitan Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales.

Starting in the kitchen of their hometown of Shepparton, Eat Up has grown rapidly since its inception, expanding from helping 20 schools in 2015 to 526 schools at present, producing over 9,000 sandwiches every school week.

Grant #20 - PowerWells

Queensland based social enterprise PowerWells was founded in 2017 and aims to improve the lives of individuals living in energy poverty through the adoption of renewable technologies.

Taking inspiration from a water-well, a PowerWell serves as a centrally located resource, providing services to rural communities and third world countries in the areas of electricity, lighting and communications.

Having access to a reliable and renewable source of light provides unlimited opportunities and limits a family’s reliance on kerosene, with non-electric light sources responsible for killing over 1.5 million people globally per year.

Grant #19 Super Max And Bryce

10-year-old Bryce gifts special ‘Super Max the Turtle’ night lights to children undergoing cancer treatment – and this Flying Start grant will help Bryce and his family cover the travel costs of visits to children’s oncology hospitals across Australia and New Zealand.

Grant #18 First Hike

Perth local, Neil McCulloch, founded the First Hike Project in 2015 after realising that there were many refugee and migrant youths in his community struggling to connect with the Australian community.

The Flying Start grant has helped First Hike cover the expenses and flights associated with taking refugee youths aged between 15 and 24 on hikes in the Australian bush land.

Grant #17 Top End Indigenous AllStars Netball

Top End Indigenous AllStars Netball was founded to provide culturally appropriate and supportive pathways for young netballers to fulfil their potential.

Historically Indigenous youth have competed nationally at the Budgies Australian Netball competition for longer than 10 years, but in 2016 it was the first time TEIAN attended with 4-youth netball teams (12s, 14s, 16s & 18s) and it was a huge success

Grant #16 Dismantle

Fremantle-based Dismantle is a non-for-profit start-up social organisation. Their unique BikeRescue Program teaches at risk youth how to rebuild bikes to boost their self-esteem, learn new skills and put them on the path to a positive future.

We're excited to help Dismantle pilot their amazing program in regional and remote Western Australian communities.

Grant #15 Co-Ground

Victorian based not-for-profit organisation Co-Ground is the 15th recipient of our $30,000 Jetstar Flying Start Grant. Founder, Andrew Mellody heads up the global community who work together to tackle poverty through education, social enterprise and local leadership.

Following the success of their work in Vanuatu and with the help of the Jetstar Flying Start Grant, the group is able to expand their initiatives into the Philippines.

The $15,000 in flights will allow the establishment of regular communication channels between the global teams and the $15,000 in cash will help to establish the local programs in Manila.

Grant #14 Dreams2Live4

Sydney based Dreams2Live4 is the 14th recipient of our $30,000 Jetstar Flying Start grant. Run by CEO and head Dream Maker Louise Mahoney, Dreams2Live4 is a visionary program that helps identify and realise the dreams of patients living with metastatic cancer - any cancer that has spread, including aggressive brain cancer, relapsed lymphoma and relapsed leukaemia.

With the help of Jetstar’s Flying Start grant, Dreams2Live4 will be able to reach more dreamers than ever before. The cash will allow the organisation to employ a new Dream Maker, a unique person dedicated to helping patients identify and fulfil their dreams, while the $15,000 given in flights will be used to fly patients across the Jetstar network to experience their dreams. The flights will also assist the charity to take their work to more locations around the country by flying Dreams2Live4 team members to hospitals to meet with new dreamers.

Grant #13 Share the Dignity

Not-for-profit organisation, Share the Dignity, is the 13th recipient of our $30,000 Flying Start grant. Share the Dignity provides women living in domestic violence refuges and homeless shelters with access to women’s sanitary products when they are unable to afford them.

Founded in early 2015 in Queensland, Share the Dignity collects donations of women’s sanitary products from the public at collection bins located across Australia.

Thanks to the Jetstar Flying Start grant, made up of $15,000 in cash and $15,000 in Jetstar flights, Share the Dignity will be able to distribute a further 1000 smaller sized collection bins to businesses across the country and launch a new mobile app for volunteers, mobilising more voluntary workers to support more women.

Grant #12 Growing Change

West Australian not-for-profit organisation, Growing Change, is the 12th recipient of Jetstar’s $30,000 Flying Start grant, made up of $15,000 in cash and $15,000 in flights.

Growing Change is a social farming enterprise that provides social engagement and training for members of the community who are vulnerable to, or experiencing mental illness, homelessness or unemployment.

In early 2015, Growing Change established their first urban micro-farm, the Fremantle Social Farm which grows crops to sell to restaurants and households in the local area.

Thanks to the Jetstar Flying Start grant, Growing Change now hopes to further develop Fremantle Social Farm and expand its program nationally, using the flights to explore new farming sites in other states.

At the urban farms, people learn how to manage all elements of the commercial farming process – from preparing the ground and planting the seeds, to harvesting and then selling produce to the general public.

Through this process people are taught how to connect with others again as well as valuable skills that can be transferred to future employment.

Grant #11 Crêpes for Change

Founded by Dan and Liam Poole, Crêpes for Change is Australia's first not-for-profit crêpe food truck that raises money for charities that support homeless youth in Melbourne.

The young brothers launched their first van in August 2015. The truck can be found roaming the city's streets, markets and festivals, serving up delicious fresh crêpes in a bid to reduce youth homelessness.

Thanks to the Jetstar Flying Start grant, the youth-led social enterprise is now one step closer to building a second van and rolling out its initiative interstate.

Grant #10 The Nicole Fitzsimons Foundation

Established in 2012, The Nicole Fitzsimons Foundation was set up by the Fitzsimons family in loving memory of its namesake Nicole Fitzsimons, a young Australian who tragically lost her life in a motorbike accident while holidaying in Thailand.

Spearheaded by Nicole’s younger sister Kate, the Foundation visits high schools throughout Australia to share Nicole’s story and educate young people about the importance of travel safety. Kate has delivered over 150 talks to more than 20,000 children in Australia to-date.

With the help of Jetstar’s Flying Start grant, the Foundation will fund Kate’s travel to visit more schools, and the cash component of the grant will be put towards an educational video, due for release in schools nationally early 2016.

Grant #9 Orange Sky Laundry

Founded in 2014 by 20-year-old best mates Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, Orange Sky Laundry is the first free mobile laundry service for homeless people living in Australia.

The service aims to restore respect, raise health standards and reduce the strain on resources for Australia’s 105,000 homeless men and women. Currently operating and trialing services in Queensland, it uses custom-built vans fitted with industrial washers to visit local parks and drop in centers.

The charity now has its sights set on operating a national fleet, and thanks to Jetstar’s Flying Start grant, the plan can now be put into action. The $15,000 in cash and $15,000 in travel will be channeled directly towards establishing a brand new van for Melbourne, making this the first time the charity has ever operated full-time interstate.

Grant #8 Night Hoops

Run entirely by volunteers, Night Hoops is a unique organisation in Perth that hosts free evening basketball tournaments on Friday and Saturday nights for youths aged 12-18. The players come from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those who are at-risk and significantly disadvantaged.

Night Hoops is more than just basketball however. The program also provides young people with life-skills workshops and the opportunity to establish positive connections with local police, volunteers and peers within their community. The program delivers a safe, structured atmosphere where positive behaviour is rewarded.

Thanks to Jetstar's Flying Start grant, Night Hoop will fund a six-day cultural tour of Singapore for 10 of the program's most promising Indigenous youth players, where they will go head-to-head with some of the best teams in South East Asia.The players were selected on their basketball skills, leadership qualities, resilience and overall enthusiasm for the program. The trip is scheduled to take place in June this year (2015).

Grant #7 Reading out of Poverty

Supporting children and families from marginalised backgrounds with literacy skills, Reading out of Poverty provides a strong foundation for children to learn to read so they can succeed in education, reach their full potential and contribute to the community.

Established in Melbourne in 2010, Reading out of Poverty has since shared a range of pre-literacy activities and resources to more than 3,500 children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Promoting a love and habit for reading, the charity will now be able to distribute more than 5,000 children’s books and expand into the Northern Territory thanks to Jetstar’s Flying Start grant.

Grant #6 SISTER 2 Sister

Designed to empower vulnerable teenage girls to help them turn their lives around, Sydney-based charity SISTER2Sister is a mentoring and risk management program that aims to have a positive lasting impact.

Assigned with a Big Sister, each and every girl in the program has a positive female role model to provide constant support, guidance and advice.

From how to cook on a budget to developing a winning resume, the girls are continually learning and even get the chance to be involved in life changing experiences, such as climbing 134 metres above the sea on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb or heading off on four day Butterfly boot camps.

Thanks to Jetstar’s Flying Start funding, SISTER2Sister can continue to make a positive difference and achieve its goal of expanding into Victoria in 2014, helping more marginalised girls grow into strong and successful women.

Grant #5 Hear And Say

Imagine a world with no sound. Not listening to your sister’s laugh when you pull a funny face or hearing your mum tell you she loves you. That is the reality for hundreds of children born with a hearing impairment across Queensland.

Determined to give children born with hearing loss the best chance to lead a life without limitation, Brisbane-based not-for-profit Hear & Say has created a world-leading service to teach children how to listen and speak.

Combining modern hearing technology such as the cochlear implant and specialised Auditory-Verbal Therapy, Hear & Say are currently helping more than 600 children discover the joy of communication, including in remote Queensland where remote children benefit from the project over Skype.

And thanks to Jetstar’s Flying Start grassroots funding program those remote children are set to swap Skype for the skies, with the airline awarding Hear & Say a $30,000 grant to help connect rural kids with their therapist at a special outreach camp in Brisbane in October.

Grant #4 HeartKids SA

Each year more than 2000 Australian children are born with life-threatening childhood heart disease and require major surgery to survive.

In South Australia, these children must travel to Melbourne to access paediatric heart surgery not available locally. Some of them have just a few hours’ notice before departing and can stay for 10 days to a year.

HeartKids SA is a not-for-profit charity that helps to reduce the financial and emotional strain on families affected by childhood heart disease, by providing education, financial support and counselling services.

Through Jetstar’s Flying Start program, HeartKids SA has been able to help more families affected by childhood heart disease, by providing free flights to Melbourne with Jetstar as well as financial assistance when interstate.

Grant #3 The Song Room

The Song Room, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation was awarded Jetstar’s third Flying Start grant, receiving $15,000 cash and $15,000 in travel to be used for a ground-breaking music program for Australian primary school children. The Song Room is a national not-for-profit organisation that brightens the futures of Australia's most disadvantaged children with tailored, high-quality music and arts programs.

The grant will enable The Song Room to expand its music programs across the country. The charity is looking to host a school excursion for students to travel interstate to Sydney to see a live performance at one of Australia's most recognisable cultural icons, the Sydney Opera House.

Grant #2 Shoes For Planet Earth

Shoes for Planet Earth was Jetstar’s second Flying Start grant recipient. Co-founders Viv Kartsounis and Nick Drayton from Sydney, source, clean and deliver running shoes to homeless shelters, disaster victims, sports groups and anyone in need in Australia and internationally.

The grant comprising $15,000 in Jetstar flights and $15,000 in cash will enable them to step up the charity operation and spread its reach. Currently, donated running shoes are washed in a cement mixer called “Mona”, named after marathon runner Steve Moneghetti. The industrial washing machine Shoes for Planet Earth is purchasing with the aid of the Flying Start funding will cut down the time and physical effort required to clean shoes. The flights component of the grant worth $15,000 will enable delivery of shoes to those in need at the various ports where Jetstar flies to.

Grant #1 Mummy's Wish

Queensland-based Mummy’s Wish a charity offering practical support to mums who are facing cancer, is the first Jetstar Flying Start Program grant recipient in Australia.

From a helping hand with the house work to ensuring families stay connected with the provision of iPads to Skype on, Mummy’s Wish is all about helping to maintain a normal family life in the face of adversity.

The $15,000 cash and $15,000 travel grant will enable Mummy’s Wish to further provide a range of care and services to 100 mums and their families across Queensland, and will assist in the expansion of its services to help families in New South Wales later this year.