On behalf of BYA, I wish all our BYA ‘extended family’ a very happy new year.
2024 was a fantastic year for BYA. We were able to make 5906 connections with young people over the year, through our counselling, case management, school programs, traineeships and workshops!
Now after time to rest, rejuvenate, and re-energise BYA has some exciting plans for the new year, allowing us to support even more young people in 2025.
The biggest news is that our incredible CEO, Lisa Burgess, will re-define her role, doing more of what she loves, which is connecting with young people. Lisa has taken BYA from strength to strength over the past 5 years. She has brought so much to the role, with her key strengths being commitment, compassion, communication and enthusiasm. We are absolutely delighted to have Lisa focus on youth engagement and collaboration, in her new position as Youth Engagement Coordinator. Our young people are the centre of everything BYA does, and Lisa is the perfect person to ensure that we can harness their wisdom and meet their needs.
We are excited to welcome Tara Eastep as our new CEO. Tara has recently moved to Bridgetown, and brings with her a wealth of experience leading not-for-profit organisations around the world. Tara is kind, empathetic, and is committed to ensuring our team reaches its fullest potential.
She and Lisa are going to be a formidable team!
Finally, with enormous gratitude, we know that we couldn’t do a fraction of what we do without the support of our community. Our volunteers are the backbone of BYA, and the donations and purchases you contribute to the Op Shop make a huge difference to our service capacity. We thank the many, many people who, in countless ways, have contributed to BYA, allowing us ‘to be the best we can be’.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and we look forward to continuing to deliver quality services to our local young people in the year ahead.
With warmest regards,
Rebecca Jones
Chair, BYA