Search Results

< Back Game Day VIP Event The Huddle unveil the new Game Day Program at this Grand Opening Previous Next

Duad’s experiences with careers support from The Huddle < Back Community supporting community Maddy Ware and John King 14 Feb 2023 Duad’s experiences with careers support from The Huddle Recruitment processes, such as resume writing and interviews, in today’s employment landscape are becoming more complex. Young people from diverse backgrounds continue to be adversely affected by these processes, often due to a lack of exposure or access to appropriate support through their own networks. This leads to challenges in obtaining sustainable employment. Mentoring and coaching throughout the recruitment process has proven to be highly valuable to young people from diverse communities (Meet Me in the Middle Report, P.21 ). In today’s employment market, employers are consistently looking for transferrable skills over technical skills. They expect young people to be able to confidently speak about their transferable skills, as well as explain in what circumstances they use them. The objective of The Huddle’s Game Changers program is to bridge the information gap between young people and employers. By providing Career Coaching on resume writing, cover letter writing and interview preparation, young people can identify their skills and confidently communicate them to an employer. Game Changers supports young people from diverse backgrounds to not only identify skills they have acquired through their lived experiences, but also understand that they use transferable skills in everyday settings such as home life, sports, school, and work. Daud is a 19-year-old male from North Melbourne. He had been involved with The Huddle’s Huddle Holidays and Huddle Up! programs since 2020, and was referred to Game Changers through a family member who had previously been involved in the program, suggesting the supportive structure and coaching provided in the program would be beneficial. Daud connected with the Careers Coordinator mid-2022 and, following Career Coaching sessions, expressed interest in working with The Huddle or within the community setting more broadly. The interest was due to positive experiences he had participating in programs in his local North Melbourne area. After finalising his resume and cover letter, the Careers Coordinator suggested Daud apply for a role available with the YMCA, a partner organisation of The Huddle, at the North Melbourne Community Centre (NMCC). Daud was reluctant because he had been a participant at NMCC and was unsure of his abilities to lead people within his social circle. The Careers Coordinator and Daud had many conversations about his skills and abilities and what it would mean to work within his community and, despite being initially apprehensive, Daud had built up enough confidence in his abilities and decided to apply for a Duty Manager role. Daud was successful in getting an interview at NMCC and took part in a number of job interview preparation sessions, answering practice interview questions and preparing examples with the Careers Coordinator. After Daud’s interview, he felt confident in how he presented himself, his transferrable skills, and his experience as a member of the North Melbourne community. Daud was successful in his application and appointed to the role of Duty Manager, beginning at NMCC in December 2022. Through participating in Game Changers, Daud was supported to identify his talents and believe in himself, giving him the confidence needed to apply for a management position. Furthermore, Game Changers resulted in Daud having a better understanding of recruitment processes and procedures while also fostering a safe psychological environment in which Daud could learn about his abilities and successfully talk to his skillset. Daud was able to identify his skills and communicate them to an employer confidently and succinctly in an interview situation, successfully gaining employment. Game Changers massively helped me with resumes, with cover letter writing, with interviewing skills…[and] being able to appropriately sell myself in a way. - Duad Daud is thoroughly enjoying work at North Melbourne Community Centre and hopes to gain full-time employment in the community space in the future. “The thing I enjoy most about working at North Melbourne Community Centre is the community atmosphere. Being part of the community myself and being able to work in the community and do my part and give back what I got, it’s a great feeling.” Previous Next

Yasseen Musa OAM works closely with The Huddle to help migrant families settle into life in Australia. < Back Mazda Learn 2 Drive Program Previous Next

Getting out and active before summers gone! < Back Ending the Summer with a Sports Clinic Jasper Menor 23 Jan 2025 Getting out and active before summers gone! As the school holidays come to a close and we wrap up Huddle Holidays, we close it out with a super Sports Clinic featuring Aussie Rules Football, juggling skills, basketball and soccer. Our facilitators did such a wonderful job keeping everyone engaged and giving each participant the support they needed to get involved. Juggling is a lot trickier than it looks. We had fun for the whole family. Thanks to Walking Football 4 Health Victoria, parents joined in the action with a battle for the ages; young participants versus the parents. It was the perfect way to get everyone involved and keep the energy all day long. What a great way to conclude Huddle Holidays this summer with an activity that got everyone in the family moving. This definitely won't be the last! Thank you to our partners: Department of Education and Training (DET), Community Bank Seddon, City of Melbourne, Wyndham City Council and The Y for making the Huddle Holidays possible. Previous Next

North Melbourne vs Hawthorn, Round 6 < Back Welcome To AFL, Round 6 Previous Next

School communities across North Melbourne and Wyndham are diverse in all dimensions, and this presents both challenges and opportunities < Back Social cohesion through education Emma Kearney and Em O'Halloran 27 Sept 2022 School communities across North Melbourne and Wyndham are diverse in all dimensions, and this presents both challenges and opportunities School communities across North Melbourne and Wyndham are diverse in all dimensions, and this presents both challenges and opportunities. Teachers and school staff recognise the vital importance of positive interpersonal relationships between students and staff, a sense of belonging and worth, and group solidarity. However, schools are often restricted in their ability to design, implement and evaluate learning programs that focus on belonging, equity, trust, worth, and resilience. The Department of Education and Training has partnered with The Huddle since 2019 to enhance social cohesion through community-led delivery of tailored activities with partner schools to promote participation, belonging, equity, trust, and resilience in school communities. This project is called Social Cohesion Through Education (SCTE). Since 2019, The Huddle has worked with more than 30 schools (including primary, secondary, and combined schools) as part of the SCTE project funded by DET. Early conversations with school administration and teachers indicated that there was a strong desire for pre-prepared learning programs that were focused on students’ holistic development and student empowerment, were aligned to the curriculum, and are highly engaging. The Huddle team co-designed SCTE initiatives, True North and Voice Your Voice, with teachers and students as an outcome of these consultations. True North is a series of personal development workshops aligned to the Victorian Curriculum – Capabilities framework, have been delivered in nine schools to participants across 2022 as part of the SCTE project. Consistently, teachers and student comment on the significant impact of True North workshops because students are given the space and time to explore concepts such as emotional intelligence, happiness, grit, mindset, values, identity, culture, teamwork, leadership and their awareness of self, and others. The Voice Your Voice program has inspired, built confidence, and encouraged societal engagement of the 393 students who participated in 2022. Students explored social issues, identified and practised ways to advocate and prototype ideas, and then collaborate to create an advocacy campaign about a topic important to them. For many schools, True North and Voice Your Voice has become an integral part of the yearly learning sequence. St Andrew’s Primary School is one such school. True North has been delivered to every Grade 6 cohort since 2019. In 2022, the grade 6 cohort completed Voice Your Voice as a student-led project to provide students with an authentic opportunity to utilise and build upon the skills and understanding they acquired from True North. Evaluation data from St Andrews Primary School students consistently indicate that students find both initiatives fun and memorable, with comments often expressing appreciation for the opportunity to learn deeply about their self, identity and culture and build upon their awareness of others, whilst testing new vocabulary and skills. I find True North and Voice Your Voice awesome because we are not just learning reading and writing, we are learning about things like racism, homophobia, and other things in life, like my leadership and my values that I will need later. I also love the way that Emma and Josh teach as it's inclusive and I always have fun where they are teaching me and my peers. - Year 6 St Andrews student Wyndham Central College is another school that has incorporated SCTE initiatives into its yearly program. Both schools used True North workshops facilitated online in 2020 and 2021 to engage and support students during remote learning throughout COVID lockdowns. I have learnt so much about my own identity and have a greater understanding of the students in the program. The Huddle’s activities have opened my eyes to the possibilities of how my teaching practices can be improved. - Troy West – Teacher at Wyndham Central College This year the “Young Mob” at Wyndham Central College created student-led media campaigns as part of the Voice Your Voice project. Teacher consultations across 2022 indicate that True North and Voice Your Voice are achieving their objectives in terms of student growth and development, alignment to curriculum and enhancing social cohesion within classrooms but also having an impact on teachers as well. Since The Huddle has delivered True North and Voice Your Voice in our school, I have seen a huge benefit for myself and the students. Both programs are a much-anticipated event for Year 6s at St Andrew's Primary School. Attendance is highest on a Thursday as the children do not want to miss the workshops delivered by The Huddle. It is excellent preparation for secondary school, providing skills and techniques for dealing with everyday problems within the real world. The activities which build teamwork are excellent, there is rich dialogue and shared strategies on how to solve problems using true collaboration. The activities the students undertake with The Huddle have inspired me to think creatively as to how I can better engage the student in the class, particularly those with different learning needs. - Anne-Marie – Year 6 teacher at St Andrew's Previous Next

Trent Archer shares Werribee Primary School's journey with The Huddle. < Back Building Confident Learners: Werribee Primary School’s Journey with The Huddle Jasper Menor 17 Sept 2025 Trent Archer shares Werribee Primary School's journey with The Huddle. When it comes to engaging students in meaningful learning, Werribee Primary School is leading the way. Guided by Learning Specialist of Wellbeing and Inclusion, Trent Archer , the school has embraced the full suite of programs offered through The Huddle —from GOAL! to True North , Game Day , and most recently, Math Hoops . What began as a curiosity quickly turned into a cornerstone of the school’s approach to student engagement. "...we started off with GOAL! last year that really engaged a lot of our Year 3 & 4's in particular...then we jumped into the other ones like True North... and then Game Day as well, which is a really fun experience... and Math Hoops obviously today, which is fantastic. So all very good programs." Beyond the Game: STEM, Wellbeing, and Inclusion One of the biggest surprises for Trent was just how broad the programs are. "...it's not just around footy focused, it's quite STEM focused, and you're really looking at how to involve the interests of all students...our Year 4's this year, we're a real focus for wellbeing in particular. So True North is something that I saw last year for our Year 5 & 6's, and we worked together to create a new program that fits the needs of our year fours...the curriculum as a vehicle. But the motors really run by their interests and engaging the students in their learning, which is really important." This student-led approach has sparked new levels of excitement in the classroom. Whether it’s teamwork on the court, problem-solving in Math Hoops, or reflection in True North, students are actively connecting their learning to real-world skills. Tailored for Every Year Level Werribee Primary has also worked closely with The Huddle to adapt programs to meet the needs of specific cohorts. "...we've been very lucky that The Huddle's worked with us...I've really enjoyed the ability to work together in creating a platform that's available for all students. " A Partnership with Community at its Heart For Trent, what stands out most is the collaboration and commitment behind The Huddle. "...[The Huddle] are really focused in on, the Wyndham community, but also, North Melbourne and the western part of Melbourne and really making sure that we're meeting the needs of the students, but also we're building up really good people." At its core, this partnership is about more than academic learning. It’s about shaping confident, resilient young people who are proud of where they come from and inspired to reach their potential. Watch the full interview with Trent Archer from Werribee Primary School below to hear more about their journey with The Huddle. Previous Next

Young voices, real impact — a youth-designed space built on trust, creativity, and community. < Back Youth-Led Transformation at NMCC John King 25 June 2025 Young voices, real impact — a youth-designed space built on trust, creativity, and community. In 2024, The Huddle, in partnership with The Y and the City of Melbourne, established a Youth Advisory Group (YAG) with the goal of strengthening trust between young people who engage with the North Melbourne Community Centre (NMCC) and the staff and managers who operate the facility. Participants in the YAG undertook a tailored capacity building program, which included The Huddle’s Game Changers program, to enhance their career development and guide the design of a project to create an accessible Games Room for community use, while also establishing and communicating Conditions of Entry and Standards of Behaviour for users. Paving the Way Forward, a Victorian State Government initiative, provided funding to operationalise the Game Room project. These partnerships provided the young people participating in the YAG an opportunity to manage a real-world project which would have immediate impact within the community, while also providing valuable career experience and skill development. When asked to reflect on her time as a YAG member, Inas Adil said, “The Youth Advisory Group offered me an opportunity that proved to be deeply meaningful and transformative. It was in this space that I was not only heard but valued as a young person who is able to make decisions about our societies. Participating in discussions, giving feedback, and taking part in even creating new projects made me learn how to advocate for change and gave me my needed self-confidence.” Allysha Morris, Centre Manager for The Y at the NMCC worked directly with the YAG to help shape and bring their ideas to life. “The Games Room Project has been a powerful example of what youth led community spaces can achieve when built on trust, accountability, and creativity,” she said. “Collaborating with the young women as they developed their survey questions and helped shape ideas for the bookings and open day was inspiring. Watching the young men cheer on their mates as they cut the ribbon, and seeing the smiling children creating, playing, and connecting, was genuinely wholesome. It was a reminder of why inclusive, safe, and engaging spaces like this matter.” The initiative also aligned closely with the City of Melbourne’s values of youth engagement, inclusivity, and community driven solutions. David Rowe, Melbourne City Baths Manager at City of Melbourne was involved in the collaborative project and said, “Over the course of 10 weeks, the YAG process fostered strong partnerships between the YMCA, the City of Melbourne, and the broader community. The collaboration was marked by mutual respect, shared goals, and a genuine commitment to youth-led outcomes. The Games Room, which now contains comfortable couches, a PlayStation 5, kids games, tables, chairs, computer access, table tennis, card games, lockers, a quiet Study Room and Makers Space is now available for use by the community who helped create it. The YAG hopes it will be evidence of what strong young voices can achieve when given the chance. “Seeing our ideas taken seriously and implemented was one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a part of the group. The concrete results of our efforts and knowing that young people's opinions were influencing actual results was empowering. My conviction that youth participation in decision-making spaces is crucial has been strengthened by this experience. It has motivated me to keep up my advocacy efforts and keep trying to improve my community,” Said Inas. Previous Next

A day of creative fun! Kicking off Huddle Holidays with Arts & Crafts. < Back Creative Fun at Huddle Holidays Jasper Menor 14 Jan 2025 A day of creative fun! Kicking off Huddle Holidays with Arts & Crafts. Huddle Holidays brought creativity to life at The Huddle on Arden St.! The day kicked off with games and activities, sparking laughter, curiosity and new friendships. Our Junior participants explored origami, bead-making, and drawing, turning imagination into colourful masterpieces. Beyond crafting, they bonded, shared ideas, and celebrated their creativity together. A huge shoutout to our amazing facilitators, who made every moment engaging and fun. Their energy, encouragement, and smiles kept the excitement alive—just look at the joy on our participants' faces! As the day wrapped up, everyone left with not just their artistic creations, but also new friendships and fun memories. Stay tuned to our stories to see what else our Huddle Holidays participants got up to these Summer holidays! Previous Next

Building confidence and essentials skills through Game Changers. < Back Nabiha's experience through Game Changers! Emily Maiorana 28 Oct 2024 Building confidence and essentials skills through Game Changers. Nabiha Mohamed, recently completed Game Changers at The Huddle, working collaboratively with her peers to answer the question how can we plan a multi-sport event that promotes participation and social inclusion. “I heard about Game Changers from my educational program. What I enjoyed about Game Changers was to get to know the other girls in the group and also learning about skills I can use in my job and future wise and how to improve in getting a job in the future.” Through capacity building workshops, Nabiha used ideation strategies to develop and refine ideas that answered the question, before conceptually designing a program that could delivered in a community setting. Working in groups, participants then created engaging presentations to pitch their ideas to a panel industry professionals at our Game Changers Pitch Event. “My pitch was with a group of two other girls and it was based about a multi-sport for inclusion and we did it for people with disabilities and also students that are facing disadvantage in their homes.” Game Changers provides young people with opportunities to learn and develop essential skills through problem solving and project management activities, providing an immersive and engaging experience that replicates modern work environments and expectations. “What I learned in Game Changes was transferable skills that I can use in my future with getting a job and my career. I think it (has) helped me improve to speaking to people and with my confidence.” Check out Nabiha’s time with us in Game Changers in the video below. Previous Next

Howard's Story < Back Empowering Early Careers Emily Maiorana 21 Nov 2023 Howard's Story For many young people the expectation of needing to have your career path decided is both an unrealistic and overwhelming process. Game Changers is a program that instills confidence in young people, provides authentic experiences and uncovers skills that assist young people in defining their own career path. In partnership with Equal Ed and Wyndham City Council, The Huddle delivered Game Changers to eager young people living, learning or playing in the city of Wyndham during the June school holidays. Fostering creative thinking, active problem solving, teamwork and project management, Game Changers acts as a launchpad for young people to develop skills, make new connections and gain real-world experience. Howard is a 16 year old male from Wyndham, and has been a consistent participant of The Huddle’s Multisport program, Huddle Up!. Howard was encouraged to participate in Game Changers due to his proven leadership abilities and enthusiasm to professionally develop his skillset. The program took place over three days and saw participants engaged in ideation and project development workshops facilitated by Equal Ed, while The Huddle delivered job readiness sessions. “What I enjoyed most about the program was the teamwork and connection created by the delivers and participants, The Huddle offered valuable support in building our personal character, Equal Ed shared practical knowledge and challenged our way of thinking and Liam provided us with connection to Wyndham Council”. Howard alongside six of his peers were offered an Employment Experience position at The Huddle where they assisted the planning, recruitment, and execution of our Huddle Slam event for over 60 young people in the Wyndham community. “This opportunity has braced me for the future. I feel aware and reassured that I will not be overwhelmed by what a workplace feels like in the future,” said Howard. As a result of the collaboration, Howard has felt supported and comfortable to engage in other programs to further elevate him on his early career journey. He took part in the Wyndam Emerging Professionals Network event, where he was able to connect with leaders from different industries and have safe conversations about his future endeavors. The partnership has allowed Howard to seek mentors across a variety of industries and gain access to a wealth of services who can further support him along the way. “Aside from the development of my skills, the partnership has helped me build a foundation for my future”. Howard will soon embark on a new challenge as he gears up to participate in the Change-Maker Summit held in Canberra in December. Howard is one of 25 young Australians who have been accepted into this program hosted by the Australian Olympic Committee. Game Changers will again be delivered in Wyndham in Autumn 2024. If you would like further information about the program or other employment services offered at The Huddle, please contact Emily Maiorana at emily.maiorana@nmfc.com.au . Previous Next

We chat to Nor about Ubuntu Project's community work, and their relationship with The Huddle < Back Ubuntu Project CEO, Nor Sharino Previous Next