Welcome to the Father James Grant Foundation
The Father James Grant Foundation empowers disengaged youth to become powerful assets for business through its support and mentoring program, “Mission Engage”.
We work in partnership with businesses to provide real employment pathways for young people otherwise at risk of long-term unemployment and disadvantage. Tailored to the participating business, the Mission Engage program provides disengaged youth with the necessary skills, training and confidence to improve their employability, their lives and supercharges the positive impact they have on the business.
The Mission Engage youth program is a national initiative free for young Australians, provided with the financial assistance from host businesses, philanthropic activities and support of the Father James Grant Foundation.
WHO ARE DISENGAGED YOUTH?
Many young Australians leave secondary education without any academic aspirations and no clear vision or understanding of a career path. These youth can be law abiding, living harmoniously with their family, and engaged in other social and community activities, but lacking the motivation or the skills required to gain meaningful employment. Without a clear direction, youth can become disengaged, often leading to low-self esteem, isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, crime, and long-term unemployment.
What is initially a single issue – such as unemployment after completing school – becomes multi-faceted, and this can have negative consequences for the young person, their family and friends, and the wider community.
The Father James Grant Foundation’s ‘Mission Engage’ program was developed to encourage and engage at risk youth, and provide them with the necessary skills, training and confidence to find employment. Most commonly, the program works with 16-22 year old Australians without a clear vision for their future and whose school, sporting and social experiences have failed to inspire confidence or a strong sense of self.
WHY WE’RE THE FOUNDATION TO DO IT
After successful ventures with Chaplains without Borders and Catholics in Business, Father James Grant founded the Father James Grant Foundation in early 2015.
With a philanthropic focus, the Foundation was established to harness the skills and the knowledge of business people. With over two decades of experience working within the education and chaplaincy sectors, Father James Grant has developed a deep understanding and knowledge of the driving motivations behind youth disengagement. Furthermore, he has identified a real need for businesses to get more out of their social programs.
“What’s driving me is, ’how can I be a useful Priest and Chaplain? If chaplaincy involved just walking around talking to people I would have been out of business a long time ago. You have to be the source of positive change.”
– Father James Grant
Father James founded Australia’s first inter-faith corporate chaplaincy service, and has worked extensively within organisations including Crown Casino, Southern Cross Station, Bendigo Bank, Myer, Target, the Peter MacCullum Cancer Clinic, CrownBet, Melbourne Victory F.C, Premier Fruits, I.P.A, and the Wilson Group, in providing corporate-based chaplaincy initiatives. Furthermore, Father James founded two schools on the Indian sub-continent.
