Since 2016 the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation and Victoria University have been in an innovative, industry first partnership designed to build strong and vibrant communities in Victoria’s west.  

The partnership includes collaboration on the delivery of programs through student placements and projects, the joint facilitation of advocacy for the diverse community of the West and conducting of research and program evaluations to give strong legitimacy and credibility to program curriculum.

One such collaboration is the inaugural Daughters of the West program tailored to Vietnamese-Australian women as part of the VU RISE (Recover, Innovate, Sustain, Evolve) project. Thanks to generous funding from the Victorian Government, the program aims to capture insights from people of CALD backgrounds about barriers and enablers to their participation in health programs such as Daughters of the West.  

As well as collaboration to deliver and evaluate programs, a number of initiatives and events were delivered by the two organisations in 2021, including a pop-up vaccination hub at VU Whitten Oval, an International Women’s Day Event, Iftar event at VU Metro West and the Play On Webinar series.  

Traditionally at the conclusion of each year, a showcase event is held at VU Whitten Oval which allows VU students to present and exhibit program outcomes to key stakeholders. Unfortunately, this event was a causality of COVID-19, so in it’s place a showcase document was created. For a further in-depth review of the year that was, and to learn more about how the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation and Victoria University work together, download our 2021 review booklet here.