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The Stars Foundation proudly announces a new partner, Newcrest Sustainability Fund, to its growing supporter base. Through the fund, Newcrest Mining has kindly committed its first donation of $1 million across 2023 and 2024. This generous donation will support around 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women in the Stars school-based and Transitions programs.

Established in 2015, the Stars Foundation provides a holistic mentoring program that supports around 2,500 First Nations girls and young women in primary and secondary schools in 47 participating schools across 5 states and territories.  The mission of the Stars Foundation is to improve health, education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women.

The Newcrest Sustainability Fund investment will be directed towards three key initiatives.

1. Establish and develop Stars programs in New South Wales as part of the Foundation’s next phase of growth, with 4,000 students expected to be enrolled with Stars by the end of 2024.
2. Deliver pathways from education to employment via the Stars Transitions Program which provides ongoing support to graduates with their transition to further study or employment on completion of Year 12. The Stars team will engage with Newcrest personnel and operations where there are aligned operational ‘footprints’, with Stars currently operating in Newman, Karratha and Roebourne in the Pilbara and Townsville in North Queensland, which is close to Newcrest operations.
3. Support existing school-based programs in the Pilbara and Townsville. In the Pilbara, the Stars Foundation currently supports around 250 primary and secondary students in Karratha/Roebourne and Newman. In Townsville, Stars supports approximately 280 students.

Founder and CEO of Stars Foundation, Andrea Goddard, said the support from Newcrest had arrived at a critical period of growth for the organisation, which will have a wonderful impact on hundreds of First Nations young women and families.

“After eight years of operation, the impact of the Stars program on our students is clear. It is the hard work and dedication of the Stars students to completing their education and future employment, coupled with the unwavering support from our incredible team that leads to the outcomes we achieve. This helps us to attract a partner such as Newcrest,” said Andrea Goddard.

“All of our partners, including Newcrest, enables us to mentor and inspire around 2,500 First Nations young women daily. This number will grow to 4,000 in the coming 12 months as we expand and establish in NSW. Beyond that, we know there are many more young women we can assist to ensure gender equity, so every single partnership and donation is critical to creating equity and opportunity for First Nations women.”

The following 2022 metrics highlight why Stars Foundation is Newcrest’s partner of choice.

• 91% of senior Stars completed Year 12. There is currently a significant gap between the number of First Nations young people who complete Year 12 (63.2 per cent) and the number of non-Indigenous people who complete Year 12 (88.5 per cent).
• Stars students achieve higher attendance rates of Stars students compared to (all Indigenous students attendance rate in partner schools and ‘on par’ with all students in partner schools.
• 86% successful transitions to work or study (2021 graduates as of December 2022) plus graduates supported with post school pathways.
• The greatest number of Stars students are based in Western Australia – 1120, followed by Northern Territory – 1014, Queensland – 274, Victoria – 70 and South Australia – 29.
• There are 148 staff members: 65% of staff are Indigenous, 92% of staff working in program-facing roles, and 97% of staff are women.
• 1:20 ratio of mentee: mentor relationship.
• 90% of all funds are distributed directly to programs in community.
• 700+ Stars Alumni members since launching in 2015.

Newcrest Interim CEO, Sherry Duhe, is thrilled the investment will create multiple opportunities for First Nations young women.

“This partnership is a great fit for the Newcrest Sustainability Fund’s goal of delivering meaningful, positive and enduring change in the communities in which we operate and will help many Aboriginal girls and women reach for the stars through the power of education,” said Sherry Duhe.

“We can’t wait to work with the Stars team on helping their students transition from school to further study, training or employment – including in Australia’s world-leading mining industry – and support their great work in Queensland and WA while expanding their presence into NSW.”

About Stars Foundation

The Stars Foundation supports and enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women to identify their goals and make active choices towards realising their full potential in all aspects of their development and wellbeing. The program focuses on four pillars designed to improve health and education outcomes which includes: Education, Training and Employment; Healthy Lifestyles; Wellbeing; Community; and Culture and Leadership.

www.starsfoundation.org.au

About Newcrest

Newcrest is the largest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and one of the world’s largest gold mining companies. Newcrest is an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and the froth flotation product, gold-copper concentrate. Newcrest is committed to supporting a safe, diverse, and inclusive culture where talents and differences are valued. Newcrest’s purpose is to proudly produce for a better future.

www.newcrest.com or www.newcrest.com/newcrest-sustainability-fund