It all started around a kitchen table at Boorowa. It was the early 90s, the wool industry was in decline and Boorowa, like many other small country towns, had seen pastoral houses leave town and banks close their branches

“When we looked around the young men, in particularly, were drifting into the shearing sheds as roustabouts and weren’t really stretching their capacities in terms of further education,” said Nick Burton Taylor AM, Chair and Founder of the Country Education Foundation (CEF).

“So, we established a foundation to try and mentor and give some financial assistance to young school leavers, whether it was embarking on a trade or heading to university but heading to a career.”

The idea was a great success and soon other small surrounding communities followed their lead, to provide small grants raised through local fundraising to support their young school leavers.

“It was very successful; it bound the communities’ aspirations for young people with the realisation that it was a bit tougher in the bush to find young people opportunities,” said Mr Burton Taylor.

“Anyone living in regional Australia would understand the joys of living in a regional area, but also some of the hardships. And educational opportunities have been one of them.

“They had to move away from home if they wanted to further their education, they had extra financial pressures, sometimes it was the first time they’d ever left home,  they needed some sort of support structures, so we put those in place and it worked very well.”

Today, CEF oversees 44 local foundations and 456 volunteers across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory all from their new national office in Orange.

Last Wednesday (5 March) CEF celebrated the official opening of the new office which was attended by around 70 guests. The building was purchased thanks to the incredible generosity of an anonymous donor.

“For a small charity like ourselves, this is a wonderful position to provide the surety of our staff and the 456 volunteers who make up our organisation. We work together from the grassroots up to boost further education in the bush,” said Mr Burton Taylor.

Guests at the opening, were welcomed with music from the Orange High School stage band and canapes from the school’s catering team.