How is Brite making a difference in the lives of our employees?
Brite is a Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to supporting people with disabilities to find and maintain meaningful employment. Through a range of training programs, job placement services, and ongoing support, Brite is positively impacting the lives of people with disabilities in our community.
Let’s take a closer look at how Brite makes a difference for everyone who walks through our doors.
Our Mission and Values
As our CEO, Robert Hannaford states, “the vision and mission for Brite is to find employment and a great outcome for people living with disabilities.”
At the core of Brite’s vision is a commitment to equity, dignity, and inclusion for people living with disabilities. The organisation’s mission is to create a world where people living with disability have equal access to meaningful employment opportunities and can contribute to their communities in real, value-adding ways.
We are passionate about helping our employees and students learn, grow, find their inner-strength and courage, and make lasting friendships and memories that will stay with them.
Community Impact
Brite’s work has a profound impact on the lives of the people it serves. Through its training programs, Brite helps people living with disability gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in the workplace. “We do manufacturing of food, plastics, we have a nursery, we have assistive technology, and we have a training organisation, known as an RTO,” says Hannaford.
Last year alone, Brite was fortunate enough to have a team of 142 supported members combine for a monumental 90,000 hours of work. As we look to the future, we only want to improve on those numbers and provide even more meaningful opportunities for members of the community.
Aiden, a student of Brite, sums up the impact the organisation has had on him when saying, “I’ve only been with Brite for nine, almost ten months now. We learned technology, we learned pronouns, grammar, we’re learning more of how we need to be more of ourselves.”
Partnerships and Collaborations
Brite understands that disability employment is a complex issue that requires collaboration and partnership across sectors. To that end, the organisation has formed partnerships with a range of community organisations, businesses, and government agencies to help advance its mission.
Brite has had the honour of being involved in quite a few exciting partnerships recently. In 2022, we finally finished our Brike project, which, as Hannaford states, “several years ago, we started on a venture, creating a bicycle that would carry a wheelchair- something that is used in aged care and also across Australia in different variations.”
Some of our other meaningful recent collaborations include partnering with KoKo Black Chocolate to lend a hand with their cracking good chocolate easter eggs. We have also supported Get Ya Yum On with their mission to deliver healthy food on a global scale. And our work with Kangan Institute has allowed us to nurture inclusive education in the Hume and Northern Melbourne regions.
Volunteer and Support Opportunities
With all the good work that Brite has been doing, you may be asking yourself: how can I get involved? If you are committed to helping our organisation advance its mission, then we are always on the lookout for new volunteers. You can offer your help in a variety of ways, so why not reach out and see if you can help make our organisation just that little bit Briter.
Conclusion
Brite is an inspiring example of how not-for-profit organisations can make a real difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Through its commitment to equity, inclusion, and collaboration, Brite is helping to create a more equitable and just society for all.
To find out more about how we make a difference, we invite you to watch this latest video exploring the work and impact that our organisation has.
