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Introducing our Latest Changemakers - Backing the Future Cohort Seven

VFFF's Backing the Future, delivered with support from our friends at the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), champions Changemakers backing young people aged 12-30 in rural and regional NSW and QLD. Backing the Future offers a $50,000 grant over 12 months for innovative projects that are focused on rural and regional young people across one or more of VFFF's four focus areas: Decent Work, Caring for the Environment, Contributing to Society and Exploring Christian Faith and Values.

Ten talented individuals from rural and regional NSW were selected in October 2025 to form Cohort Seven. Read about their ideas:

Jessie Armstrong: Riverina Stock Dog Apprentices Pilot Program

Equipping young people for on-farm employment through a 12-month pilot program, developing skills and gaining experience with working dogs and livestock handling.

Ebanita Emojong (Sewa): Activate AMYCC: A Voice For Young Multicultural Youth

Empowering multicultural young people with training, mentorship, and paid leadership opportunities through a Multicultural Youth Consultative Committee in Armidale, creating culturally safe spaces that amplify youth voices and drive change.

George Lester (Clancy): Inspiring the Next Generation of Nature Lovers

Delivering immersive education programs across NSW to deepen understanding of pollinators, environmental change, and cultural knowledge, fostering scientific literacy and inspiring future leaders to care for the environment.

Lloyd Godson: The Wackadoos: Electrifying Futures

Empowering young people to collaborate within a youth-led science program, where they will be supported in a cross-generational space to gain employability skills, industry mentoring and experience.

Julie Humphris: The Launch Pad - Youth Entrepreneurs Program

Delivering a 12-week business development program that equips rural young people with practical skills, mentorship, and real-world experience through a collaborative pop-up store, building confidence and sustainable enterprises.

Jamie Lepre: The Village Hearth

Developing purposeful pathways that guide young people through physical, emotional and spiritual transitions to foster belonging, resilience and intergenerational connections.

Joel Spooner: Sound Start

Equipping young musicians for industry employment opportunities, through a series of workshops, connection to mentors, and events to create pathways to industry and boost confidence.

Kate Nixon: Next Gen Nature

Empowering young people to protect the environment and to connect with the land through a youth-led educational program, designed to nurture leadership and place-based identity.

Julie Overton: Cultivating Futures - For Our Youth in Paterson

Empowering young people in Paterson to lead hands-on environmental projects that restore biodiversity, create community spaces, and build leadership skills, fostering social and ecological resilience for local youth.

Tom Norman: My RFS Story

Highlighting the experiences of young RFS members through storytelling that promotes volunteering as a pathway to community connection, skill-building, and leadership in emergency response.