History
In December 2002, the Pathways Foundation was incorporated as a not for profit public company and in 2003 Pathways was registered as a harm prevention charity with gift deductibility status. The building blocks for the Foundation however, were laid much earlier by dedicated men who were interested and concerned about the health and wellbeing of boys and young men in Australia. These men believed that a fundamental process acknowledging and assisting the healthy transition from boy to young man was missing in modern Australian society and that this was contributing significantly to at risk behaviour amongst young men.
The seed that has grown into the Pathways Foundation was planted at the 1995 Australian and New Zealand Men's Leadership Gathering (ANZMLG) in Lennox Head where men who were independently running workshops for boys in different parts of Australia came together. From this gathering a proposal was put forward to further initiate and develop these independent programs throughout Australia and with the ongoing support of the ANZMLG and a $500 grant, an informal network of the program initiators, facilitators and other interested parties was formed. In 1996 this initiative of the ANZMLG was named the “Pathways to Manhood” project.
Community Pathways programs have been run annually by Arne Rubinstein,Bere Joseph Raya in Northern NSW since 1995. Community programs were also initiated and run successfully since 1993 in Southern NSW by Don Bowak and Paul Henley, in Sydney by Geoff Price and Allan Rudner, in Tasmania by Ranald Allan, in South Australia by Brendan Dwyer, and later in Perth by Robyn Wyburn, David Frost, Arne Rubinstein and Bere. Initially the program format varied quite widely from area to area and bush camps as short as three days and nights and as long as six days and nights were successfully held. By trial and experience over many years the Pathways to Manhood program format has become highly refined, flexible and very effective.
Gatherings of the various “Pathways to Manhood” program providers and other interested parties continued intermittently from 1996 onwards. The success of the programs and the passion of the leaders involved led to an increasing demand for program availability and in December 2002 a Not For Profit Company, limited by guarantee, with no share capital and requiring a voluntary board of directors was formed to provide support for existing programs, an infrastructure to create new programs, develop policies, standards and training programs, create fund raising opportunities and source a national public liability insurance policy. A voluntary group of trustees was also formed to monitor and maintain the spirit of the work ensuring that the original values and aims of the program are upheld. This group continues to grow and shift to align with the growing needs of a contemporary organisation.
The Pathways Foundation won a $15,000 grant in a national, not for profit company competition run by Social Ventures Australia in December 2002. The continued mentoring, advice and financial support of Social Ventures Australia has helped to underpin the rapid growth of the Foundation. Since 2002 a number of other supporters including private trusts and large corporates have donated generously to the Foundation.
No history of the Pathways Foundation would be complete without acknowledging the highly significant contribution of the many strong, dedicated women who worked tirelessly to develop and refine the mother’s role and processes which form an important part of every Pathways to Manhood program.
The Pathways Foundation has had many milestones over the years but 2006 will stand out as the year that the first Pathways into Womanhood pilot program was successfully run. This ground breaking program was developed by the following group of women, all experts in the field of women’s Rites of Passage: Leonie Deuis, Maree Lipschitz, MaryBeth Zang, Dianne Ryan, Bodhi Priti, Moana Pearl, Elvian Drysdale with early input from Annelies Kaufman and Divini Malcolm.
The Pathways Foundation offered two Rites of Passage programs in 2007 for the first time,Pathways to Manhood and Pathways into Womanhood and 2007 was also the year that the first woman Trustee was appointed.
There is an excitement now when people hear about the programs that the Pathways Foundation offers and the significant positive difference this work makes in the lives of participants has been confirmed by independent market research. The continued rapid growth of Pathways would not be possible without the many men and women who have given selflessly and continue to give selflessly to make this work available to more and more young people and their families across Australia.