Our Programs
How we’re planning to smash disability barriers and improve lives
We work to support people with disabilities in four key focus areas:
- Creating opportunity – from increasing the range of opportunities available, to creating new connections for people with disabilities
- Training enablers – building up the people who are essential to the wellbeing and livelihoods of people with a disability and how they engage in their communities
- Smashing perceptions – it’s time to rethink how we talk, see, support and advocate for people with a disability. We are more than our disabilities.
- Adaptive adventure – we dare you to step beyond current beliefs and perceptions about people with a disability and what they can do and achieve.
Some of the keys ways The Ree Foundation is working to make a difference and improve the lives of people who have a disability are:
Mentoring
We’re here to relate to and identify with others, show them how we’ve been through similar challenges, and help them to adjust to and thrive with a disability. One way we’re doing this is by bringing people who have adaptive needs together through Jess and Ash’s Accessibili-Tea.
Practical support
We help people understand and work through the complex NDIS and Centrelink systems to ensure their needs are being met.
Council disability liaison
We are striving to create legislation that works alongside the current Disability Inclusion Action Plans which would encourage councils to create a specific role for a person with a disability. This benefits everyone by having a person living with a disability providing insights to both community and government.
Financial assistance
Through the Blues Wheelchair Basketball Club, we provide financial assistance to individuals, teams and tournaments to give them the opportunities to learn new skills and be part of a supportive sporting community.
Adaptive adventures
Our Adaptive Adventures program will give people living with a disability the opportunity to explore the great outdoors by coming up with adaptive solutions to their physical needs. There are limited outdoor spaces for individuals with a disability to explore and experience due to inaccessibility or lack of equipment and knowledge. We will bridge the gap by forging new relationships with National Parks to make tracks more accessible, enhance mobility equipment and discover and promote ways for people to get there.
Accessibili-Tea
Tune in and support Jess and Ash as they host an Accessibili-Tea. Watch as they indulge in some sweet treats and life-changing conversations. More than just a casual chat over a cuppa and cupcake, these special events are about people coming together to create a better world for people with disabilities. Not just discussing challenges, but also sharing information on accessibility in various dining and accommodation places around Australia.
The Xplorers 9 Fundraiser
The fundraising campaign currently in underway as part of the Ree Foundations plan is Troy’s plan to take on the Xplorers 9 challenge over a period of 5 years. This challenge will see him be the first amputee to climb the 9 highest summits in the world and then ski the North and South Pole all whilst promoting the Ree Foundation! Want to learn more about the Xplorers9 awareness campaign?
The Ree Foundation Ranch
The Ree Foundation Ranch is our end goal, where we create a tailored retreat where marginalised people living with a disability can thrive! We plan to build and run a purpose-built facility featuring open spaces and bushland, accessible accommodation, and facilities to support adaptive adventures. It will include sport and recreation camps, respite and peer support programs. It will become a place of tranquillity in the Australian wilderness that encompasses all aspects of life as an individual where having a disability is the norm. It will be a place where our guests can escape and thrive, and their loved ones can also join as part of the experience.
There will be specially designed to ensure people who have a disability, mental health concerns or who are otherwise marginalised can push beyond their perceived limits and experience life to the fullest!