Foundation
Strong Brother Strong Sister
Meet the youth-run, youth-led organisation empowering young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Meet the youth-run organisation empowering young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Youth run. Youth owned. Youth focused. Strong Brother Strong Sister (SBSS) is a space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and their families to access support, and connect to culture and identity. Founded in 2017 by Cormach Evans, a proud Yorta Yorta man, SBSS is an Aboriginal owned and led organisation, servicing Geelong and the greater Wadawurrung area.
As the Cotton On Foundation’s newest partnership, we’re so excited to be supporting the team at SBSS. Their passion and dedication is inspiring. Through organising youth groups, mentoring and counselling, they’re breaking down barriers facing young people today, advocating for the needs of their community and amplifying the voices of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“We’re on the ground, working with young people everyday. We see this and we hear them, and we can feed this back. We’re bridging that gap between young people in the community and the people making decisions.”
— Keeden Graham, proud Yorta Yorta man, Manager and Youth Mentor
Creating a strong sense of belonging
No two days at SBSS are the same. Youth group activities range from surfing, rock climbing and sports, to traditional craft-making, painting and weaving. Guided by the interests of the group, these activities are all about deepening the connection with Country, and giving young people a chance to explore their identity by fostering their creativity, wellbeing and sense of community.
“We have programs that are designed and led by Aboriginal young people for the community to ensure that the specific focus is the needs of young people and the voices of young people as well. We’re able to be able to connect with culture and gain a strong sense of belonging and identity, and from that comes amazing outcomes.”
— Cormach Evans, SBSS Founder
Building meaningful support networks
Mentors at SBSS are able to provide one-on-one support, meeting young people at any stage of their lives. These sessions are so important, as they recognise that everyone is on a different journey in their relationship with identity and culture. From getting a job to getting out on Country, these sessions are guided by the individual’s needs. Family support programs are also available to help create a strong support network around each young person, in every area of their lives.
“It’s understanding that each individual does have a very different cultural journey to the next. Some are really strongly connected and have strong foundations and strong knowledge of who they are and who their community is, and then you have other young people that haven’t got those connections and haven’t got those understandings. By working at each individual's journey we can ensure we create a strong connection to culture which creates a strong identity and sense of belonging.”
“The partnership with the Cotton On Foundation is an incredible partnership and it ensures that we can continue on the work that we do, but also have a much bigger impact. It also allows us to be able to reach further, to be able to provide more in-depth support, and just achieve way better outcomes than we have ever been able to do before.”
— Cormach Evans, SBSS Founder
Heal Country
To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2021, our featured artwork is by Bek Lasky, a proud Wakaya woman and Ruby Evans, a proud Yorta Yorta woman. They are the co-founders of Soul Sister Co., an Aboriginal owned and led apparel company. Both are also part of the Strong Brother Strong Sister team, where Bek is a board member and Ruby is a youth mentor.
You're doing so good
You’re making a difference with every Cotton On Foundation purchase. 100% of proceeds go towards empowering youth through quality education and wellbeing projects.
