Scholarship recipient making sure All Things are Equal in social enterprise cafe
Social impact scholar, Bianca Stern, is driving change at All Things Equal, a Melbourne café and cooking school committed to bridging the gap between people with disabilities and the wider community.
Through purposeful training and employment opportunities, Bianca and her team are transforming lives one cup of coffee at a time.
BIANCA, CONGRATULATIONS ON BECOMING A 2024 SOCIAL IMPACT SCHOLAR! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
For me this scholarship and the professional development opportunity is invaluable. As a young professional in the non-profit sector, this scholarship has removed the economic barrier to education. I would not have had the capacity to participate in the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact without it. This experience has not only enhanced my knowledge and confidence within my current role but has also deepened my commitment to the social impact space. I now see broader horizons of what I'm capable of and am excited about the future opportunities ahead.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE SOCIAL IMPACT SPACE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
When I finished school, I moved from Sydney to Melbourne for uni and at the same time I got involved with an organisation called Flying Fox . It’s a nonprofit that provides social opportunities for young people with disabilities. Flying Fox is all about creating a place where everyone is able to hang out and make friends and have fun. In the world of disability, too often it’s just about seeing doctors and specialists and all those sort of things. So Flying Fox really broadened my world to what being involved in the sector looked like and especially that volunteering is much more than giving of your time. The amount that you gain back from it and the reward is priceless. Through this experience I also got to see how unbelievable the people that I was supporting with disability were and how capable they are. I got to know the individuals really well and to understand some of the huge challenges and lack of opportunity that they faced in comparison to myself, even though we were about the same age.
HOW DID YOU TRANSITION TO BECOMING GENERAL MANAGER AT THE ALL THINGS EQUAL CAFE?
All Things Equal is more than just a café; We're a work integrated, social enterprise specifically within the hospitality space and we exist to bridge the gap between people with disability and the wider community through providing purposeful training and award wage employment. We have an employment pathway model where people with disability over the age of 18 get to experience their first real world understanding of work and what it looks like. We run a cooking school, a canteen and a café and we can do catering as well. I've been involved since the beginning three years ago, so I’ve seen the chaos of starting a social enterprise to where it's at now where we're scaling things. The best part has been seeing the impact we’re having.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO ENROLL IN THE GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN SOCIAL IMPACT AT SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY?
I'm interested in philanthropy and the role of corporate responsibility in social impact. I wanted to understand the theory behind it and learn from like-minded individuals with diverse experiences. And I wanted to turn a bunch of buzzwords into something that I actually understand. I've experienced so much, but I've never really learned the theory behind it. It's been tricky for me to get back into study after not being at uni for a while, but the actual content is fascinating and really has challenged my thinking. I appreciate the diverse perspectives shared in the course.
HOW DO YOU PLAN TO INTEGRATE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS GAINED FROM THE COURSE INTO YOUR CURRENT AND FUTURE WORK?
It's already happening. I'm already applying the concepts I've learned and I’m approaching things differently. It has definitely boosted my confidence. I’m still young so I feel like it’s giving me a great foundation for my career long term.
HOW HAS WORKING AT ALL THINGS EQUAL SHAPED YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL IMPACT AND ITS POTENTIAL TO CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE?
Oh it’s changed my attitude dramatically. I think that I understand the absolute utter need for social enterprises like All Things Equal to exist, and I believe strongly that philanthropy is just one aspect of social change and allowing for social change. We have really big social problems to solve, and if we actually had the time, the resources and the finances to be able to do that, like the corporate world, I think we would have much bigger change and impact. I also now understand the power of community and the fact that an entire community has the potential to dramatically change people's lives.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF THE IMPACT YOU'VE SEEN?
One of our employees, actually we call them trainees. One of our trainees was told by Centrelink that he was never fit to work and we offered him a role with us. He was mentored by our chef and now he works full time in a school canteen. That's a pretty good example. So society might say one thing like they can’t work, but we're giving people the opportunity to have a meaningful job when otherwise they wouldn’t get that chance. We're also seeing some of our trainees getting jobs elsewhere, they're starting up their own micro businesses. We're seeing people in the community who previously would never even think of employing someone with disability, but now they’re considering becoming an employer of someone with disability. These are serious societal and attitudinal changes. To know that we've only been around for three years and to see that change occurring already is amazing. That people know we exist and the importance of why we need to exist is always pretty humbling.
IS THERE ANY MESSAGE YOU WANT TO CONVEY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY?
In Australia the unemployment rate for people with disability hasn't changed in over 30 years. So that tells us that there is a need to have initiatives, like All Things Equal. Also, I think if we look more broadly at our society, our society is incredibly diverse in a number of different ways. But when you look at our workplaces, they're actually not as diverse as our society in general. So if we can make sure our workplaces are as diverse as our society, imagine what our workplaces could actually be. Another thing is that I just want everyone to know that people with disability are absolutely capable of working. We just need to open the door for them.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, BIANCA. IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU.
Likewise. Have a great day!