Celebrating 10 years of supporting kids to get involved in community sport.
Binar Sports is more than a sporting club. The non-profit organisation supports primarily Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth to get involved in sport. But it also provides important services that go beyond sport.
“We provide opportunities and pathways through basketball, netball, education classes, employment assistance, cultural workshops and individual mentoring,” says Binar Sports founder and executive director Adam Desmond.
“It’s a support system and extended family to all involved.”
Adam is quick to say what’s special about Binar Sports, “it’s a culturally safe environment for Indigenous youth but is also welcoming to anybody and everybody, no matter what their background is. We bring families together in a positive manner”.
For these families, KidSport has helped reduce the biggest barrier to their kids playing sport.
“As we work primarily with disadvantaged families, KidSport is invaluable for our community.”
“It enables a lot more kids to get on the court and be involved in our programs, especially for larger families where sport becomes very expensive.”
“Even if this doesn’t completely cover the fees, it goes a long way to reducing financial stress for our families.”
Being a part of the Binar community has created deeply significant and life changing outcomes for its members.
“We’ve seen kids breaking cycles in their family, with some being the first to graduate high school or reach significant sporting achievements such as winning championships or being selected for state teams, college scholarships or going on to become professional athletes,” said Adam.
“Others have been able to build the resilience needed to get through significant trauma in their personal lives.”
“And we’ve also seen kids who’ve struggled with confidence that have changed the way they look at themselves and what they can achieve in their life.”
“Over 70% of our registering players indicate that they have a health care concession card and would like to use Kidsport. We couldn’t do without it.”