Semi Finalist Site Visit: WestWords

In 2025, Impact100 Sydney sought grant applications from charities undertaking activities to promote social cohesion in the Greater Sydney region. We received 64 applications from across Sydney, and nine have been selected to proceed to the semi-finalist stage.

This stage of the process involves the provision of additional information by the shortlisted organisations, and the participation in a virtual site visit that is open to all Impact100 Sydney 2025 donors to attend.

Site visits present a terrific opportunity for organisations to bring to life their grant application, for you to meet key people in the organisation and ask questions that help clarify the program being pitched.

WestWords

WestWords has spent over 17 years as Western Sydney's leading literary organisation, working to ensure every young person has the opportunity to tell their story and be heard. In a region where many students have never seen their lives or identities reflected in school literature, WestWords elevates underrepresented voices through creative writing workshops, writer-in-residence programs, and publishing opportunities. They particularly focus on amplifying voices from First Nations, refugee, migrant, LGBTQIA+ and low-income communities.

Each year the organisation reaches over 40,000 young people, partnering with more than 40 schools and working with over 190 professional writers and artists. Their commitment to sustained engagement rather than one-off sessions builds trust, confidence and lasting impact. Through their Write to Belong program, students create original works that are professionally published, transforming how they view themselves and their place in the world. The organisation's Executive Director was recently named one of 30 Australians "Leaving Their Mark on Culture" by The Guardian, reflecting their significant cultural impact.

A $100,000 investment from IMPACT100 Sydney would enable WestWords to bring Write to Belong to 10 new schools across Western Sydney, engaging over 500 students from refugee, migrant, First Nations and low-income backgrounds. The funding would embed professional authors from their diverse network to deliver five-week immersive storytelling programs, culminating in professionally published student anthologies. Each participating student would become a published author, receiving copies for their families while school libraries build collections reflecting their students' voices. The grant would support author fees, program coordination, anthology production, educational materials, and celebration events that deepen family and community engagement. By turning lived experience into literature, this investment would help young people move from the margins to the centre of their communities, one story at a time.