Leaderlife's Soil2Soul receives grant for car, equipment

The Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation has awarded Leaderlife's Soil2Soul program $73,000. The social lime farm enterprise aims to address the employability gap and disadvantage facing Indigenous youth between 15 and 25-years-old.

A new car and equipment will help secure the financial viability of the enterprise in the first year of the lime harvest, said project founder Joh Leader.

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"More equipment for our social enterprise will see at least 20 youth engaged in a range of work and training activities including farming, business, sales, marketing, landscaping and product distribution channels," Ms Leader said.

Since getting the vehicle about a month ago it's been heavily utilised, from driving the 35 kilometres to the farm, to allowing L-platers to boost their learning hours, to dropping kids to school.

Ms Leader said previously, the staff had been using their own cars.

Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation chair Jennifer Leslie said she was pleased to support Soil2Soul because it ticked all the boxes: youth, disadvantage and health.

After visiting Dubbo to speak with the participants, Ms Leslie said she was impressed by what she had heard and the number of reasons the vehicle was being used. She was also impressed by the quality of the limes.

Ms Leader said she was grateful to the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation for the support.