Oaktree Foundation is a non-governmental organization in Australian working towards building political and community support for action geared putting a stop to extreme poverty. It is providing aid as well as development to in need countries across Asia Pacific. Established in 2003 but incorporated in the year 2008, it is managed by young persons aged between 16 and 26, and is supervised by an advisory board.
Globally, partners of Oaktree work with communities in supporting quality educational openings for the young people, from age 12 to 30. In Australia, Oaktree Foundation is focusing on training and educating young people to become effective change agents, besides being advocated for policy transformation through continued, campaigns that are community-driven. It is claiming to be the largest youth-run organization Australia.
Oaktree is basically young people spearheading a movement aiming to end poverty. For them, change begins with a simple conviction - that extreme poverty is not just acceptable. Beliefs and convictions turn into positive action, and sufficiently informed action is going to stop extreme poverty during our own lifetime. Oaktree Foundation is Australia’s biggest youth-run entity with in excess of 150,000 members.
History
Oaktree was established in Melbourne in 2002 by Nicolas Mackay and Hugh Evans with the purpose of combating inequalities.
The first overseas Oaktree Foundation partnership was in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa with an organization named Sethani. Between the years 2006 and 2008 Oaktree worked with Sethani in investing $83,000 – to fund the setting up of an education and community centre for some 750 young people. From that time, Oaktree has since collaborated partnered with 3 other South African organizations, in addition to organizations in the Philippines, East Timor, Ghana, PNG and Cambodia. In 2011, Oaktree shifted the entire attention to the Asia Pacific and has worked with in excess of 10 local partners on diverse projects in that region, going on to directly benefit nearly 20,000 people. Between 2003 and 2012, Oaktree Foundation has invested in excess of Australian $2.5 million into various aid and development projects.
On the whole, Oaktree Foundation has invested above $8 million in a variety of overseas partnerships – with every cent of those funds coming from people just like you.
Mission
The mission of Oaktree Foundation is to have young people spearheading a movement that aims to end extreme poverty. It aspires to attain this mission in 3 ways:
- Raising awareness in Australia concerning extreme poverty to inspire and educate.
- Fundraising so as to work with those local organizations that are directly tackling poverty overseas.
- Influencing policy change at the Australian Government highest levels.
Awareness Raising and Influencing Policy Changes
Towards raising awareness foe the need for policy change, the organization has organized and held several events like the 2006 Make Poverty History concert. Then there came the Make Poverty History Zero Seven Roadtrip, followed by the End Child Slavery campaign. Recently, in 2010 and in 2013, Oaktree has managed 2 more Roadtrips as well as launching ‘Live Below the Line’ - campaigns.
For 6 years, Oaktree Foundation directly worked with high schoolers, via the Schools 4 Schools education program. The program offered leadership and knowledge training, so that enrolled students might turn their strong passion into well-directed, well-informed and influential action. Operating in more over 50 schools, Oaktree Foundation has been able to interact with thousands of leaders of change in their earlier days - students hence able to make a positive variation in their own school communities.
From the year 2008, Generate, a similar educational program, came on offer for those students who had attained university age. The Generators have turned into being the Foundation’s most dedicated campaigners. The highest Live Below the Line, raised just below $6 million in 4 years.
The Oaktree Foundation Cause
Oaktree cause is centred a movement that is looking outwards and not inwards. It cause and motivation spreads from a single person to the next person. It becomes bigger, and gets more active, until the end of the current extreme poverty can be attained or seen. Young people possess the unique capacity of building and leading this movement.
Impact Overseas
Oaktree Foundation is a fundraiser and development is what Oaktree Foundation local partners perform. organizations at the local level are best placed in terms of directly tackling poverty at the level of the community: and the main role of the Foundation is to assist in funding them. Every one of the partners empowers the young people to be able break the poverty cycle, through skills training and secondary education.
Working for Policy Change
The Oaktree Foundation is made up of young people who are of the view that the existing standards of fairness and justice are in fact not being met. This is the reason why they are working to make sure that leaders in Australia are taking action towards ending poverty. The Oaktree organization believes that the decision makers too are human and so they connect the leaders with the variety of the movement to sway change in policy.
Volunteering with Oaktree Foundation
By joining the Oaktree Foundation team of fundraisers, you will be having an enormous impact on the move towards ending poverty.
It's becomes quite unbelievable what impact a committed crew of several young people could have. In the Asia-Pacific, the Foundation has raised in excess of 5 million dollars for a diversity of life-changing projects on education. We've mobilized young people in their thousands of to take positive action on the subject of extreme poverty and in reaching millions through the various campaigns. At Oaktree, you'll be working at the very heart of a powerful movement aiming to change the manner in which Australians view the subject of extreme poverty - and in taking meaningful action towards ending it.
You’ll be joining a community of lots of similar-minded young people like you. The Oaktree Foundation crew is a quite a fun team. Though quite a diverse group, they all have one common thing- deeply passionate concerning the matter of extreme poverty.
You’ll be gaining invaluable experience and skills because you'll be learning by doing. Whatever your role it's guaranteed that you're going to draw heavily these experiences and skills in your career in the future.
