Ted Noffs Foundation launches Street University in Randwick

Following in the footsteps of Mt Druitt and Liverpool, Randwick will soon have a Street University to call its own. The new facility will have a focus on technology.

Matt Noffs and the Ted Noffs Foundation are building on their youth support services in Randwick. Picture: John Appleyard

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The Ted Noffs Foundation has taken its support to the area’s youth to another level in Randwick.

Following in the footsteps of Mt Druitt and Liverpool, Randwick will soon have a Street University to call its own. Operating out of the foundation’s head office on Alison Rd known as Easts House, the refurbished facility becomes the third Street University in NSW and the first in the eastern suburbs. The initiative was launched by the Ted Noffs Foundation in 2009, as a way of reaching out to disadvantaged young people and helping them to reach their dreams.

With an established presence in Sydney’s western and Queensland, foundation CEO Matt Noffs, grandson of founder Ted Noffs, said the Randwick Street University will have a unique point of difference.

“We will offer services which we are starting like a recording studio and most exciting for us is the Iron Lab, which is a partnership with Apple that is based on helping disadvantaged young Australians learn how to code and find work in the technology space,” Mr Noffs told the Southern Courier at the official launch on Tuesday.

Matt Noffs inside East Houses, which has been renovated to pave the way for a Street University. Picture: John Appleyard

“We really structured this Street University and its services around the demographic of the eastern suburbs, which has a strong focus on technology and is very technologically savvy.”

The foundation has been working in Randwick for more than 20 years focusing on youth drug and alcohol issues, but Mr Noffs said people were often surprised by the need for such a service in the eastern suburbs.

The Ted Noffs Foundation has called Easts House home since the 1990s. Picture: John Appleyard

“As part of our core services we have all your traditional therapeutic and counselling services, where a kid can get a hot meal and work with someone to find stable accommodation.

“One of the interesting things is that people wouldn’t expect the need for our services in the eastern suburbs, but of course there are disadvantaged people in places like Bondi and eastern beaches.”

The East Leagues Club is a longtime supporter of the Ted Noffs Foundation, donating Easts House to them for just a dollar a year. In recognition of its generosity, the renovated building was dedicated to the club.

Matt Noffs, Bruce Notley-Smith and East Leagues Club CEO Scott Bennetts officially open the renovated Randwick home of the Ted Noffs Foundation and launch its Street University initiative. Picture: John Appleyard

East Leagues CEO Scott Bennetts was on hand at the launch on Tuesday and commended Mr Noffs and the foundation for their invaluable service to Australia’s young people.

“If they are able to assist one person at a specific point in time and put them on a different trajectory in life it is fantastic,” Mr Bennetts told the Southern Courier.

“Even if they only help one person it is fantastic but we know they have helped thousands, so they are making the world a better place in our own community.”

The aim is to have the Street University up and running in January.