Fighting Chance

Fighting Chance designs, builds and scales social enterprises which move the dial for Australians with disability and their family. Our mission is to ask ‘WHAT IF?’, to see the world as it isn’t yet, to imagine a future quite different to the present. And then to make it happen.

Avenue is a success story of a social enterprise we have already designed, built, and are now scaling with the generous support of The James N. Kirby Foundation. Avenue harnesses the time, skills and abilities of people with profound and severe disability to bring epic brands to the world, retailing a range of social and ethical products to Australian consumers. In the past 12 months, we have expanded from one Avenue workhub in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, to two on the Beaches and one in Botany in Sydney South, now bringing a range of vocational training and work experience opportunities within the business to over 120 young adults with significant disability.

With a $20,000 grant from The James N. Kirby Foundation, we have been able to make significant inroads into making our new Avenue workhub in Botany fully accessible. During the fit-out of the new site we were able to do a range of works to make the new space accessible for our participants with disability, including:

  • Installing an automated sliding door at our main entrance, which is absolutely imperative for wheelchair users and people unable to operate a standard door, to be able to access the workhub each day.
  • Installing height adjustable desks and office chairs for our participants, another accessibility feature that makes it possible for wheelchairs users and people with specific seating requirements to access their work environment and daily tasks.
  • We are in the process of sourcing and installing a bathroom hoist to allow us to be able to offer personal care to people who need to be lifted from their wheelchair to use the toilet.

Operational since April 2017, our Avenue workhub in Botany now supports 10 young people with disability per day, and we are working hard to share what we do with the community and reach our goal of impacting 20 people per day, or around 60 people per year in a this new part of Sydney.

None of this would have been possible without the support of The James N. Kirby Foundation – a heartfelt thank you from everyone at Fighting Chance, particularly from the young people in Botany whose lives you are opening up to opportunity.

Laura O’Reilly
CEO and Founder