The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) presented $5,000 to Adapt Mentorship in Toowoomba Queensland, to assist the Indigenous Social Enterprise to continue to provide support to Indigenous youth in our community.
Adapt Mentorship runs youth programs focusing on connection to culture and changing the narrative. The team at Grand Central (owned and operated by QIC) selected the charity to receive the funds as part of their prize following their win at the SCCA Marketing Awards in 2024 for their NAIDOC edutainment program Colours of Culture.
The Colours of Culture campaign was a First Nations edutainment program hosted by five First Nations suppliers and the local Carbal Elders group designed to celebrate the NAIDOC Week 2023 theme of “For our Elders”.
The in-centre celebration bolstered Archibald Prize winning artist ADNATE’s live 10m x 5m outdoor mural painting, which was the culmination of a youth recidivism project by Indigenous social enterprise Adapt Mentorship.
The Colours of Culture campaign was also one of six finalists in the Sabina Rust Memorial Campaign of the Year award, being considered one of Australia’s top shopping centre marketing campaigns.
Kirby Rogers, Business and Operations Manager at SCCA said: “The SCCA is proud to highlight innovative campaigns such as Grand Central’s ‘Colours of Culture’ as part of our annual Marketing Awards. Through the SCCA’s Marketing Awards, we provide four $5,000 grants each year to winners in our Community categories. We are pleased to present $5,000 to Adapt Mentorship, selected by Grand Central, so they can continue their important youth work programs.”
Georgina Bayly, Community Relations Manager at Grand Central said: “As part of the award QIC can donate $5,000 to a community organisation and that will be going to local Indigenous Social Enterprise Adapt Mentorship. Adam and Susy from Adapt Mentorship entrusted me to work with mural artist ADNATE and this grand mural that we now have adorning our wall wouldn’t have happened without their support. They are doing phenomenal work in the community, and we can’t wait to see how this bursary will support more kids in our community.”
Adam and Susy Wenitong, Co-founders of Adapt Mentorship said: “We’re so grateful to Grand Central for backing Adapt Mentorship in creating this mural—not just as art, but as a statement of culture, identity, and opportunity. This project is about young people seeing themselves in the spaces around them and feeling proud to be part of their community. With 91% of youth and community reporting they feel a stronger sense of connection, the impact is real.
“When young people feel seen and valued, they step up, create change, and own their future. This mural is now part of a lasting walking tour, keeping these stories alive. Thanks to the bursary, we can empower even more young people to lead, create, and reshape the narrative for the next generation.”
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