Where There’s A Will
WE SEE A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE IS INCLUDED EQUALLY
Our Mission
To use the strength of our cricket bat art exhibitions to empower and unite communities to get to know, learn from and embrace all people who live with intellectual disabilities that helps reduce exclusion and isolation.
Our Work
Where There’s A Will combines art, cricket bats and exhibitions to bring communities and community organisations together in a unique and positive way.
Where There’s a Will inspires and educates community leaders and residents through awareness and understanding and offers a way to respond with improved choice and opportunties. The key strategy is to establish the pathway that creates a relationship for the person living with an intellectual disability to their community where they authentically feel included.
In 2022, Where There’s a Will is collaborating with major Australia wide community organisations including the Australian Men’s Shed Association, that have an interest in supporting people living with intellectual disabilities and improving services within communities.
Funds raised from the exhibitions are driven back into the community to create community owned, community driven and community managed services, places and programs for “all abilities” in the community.
Ange Clarke Founder
Rainbow Innovation Centre Inc
SUPPORTING ALL ABILITIES
The Rainbow Innovation Centre is located in Rainbow, Victoria. Its a not for profit organisation established with funds from the sale of cricket bats through Where There’s a Will. The Centre offers creative programs in a safe and inclusive space, community connection and, learning and development opportunities primarily for people who may feel excluded and/or isolated.
Inclusivity is achieved within the community of Rainbow as more opportunities are created. Those who used to feel excluded or isolated have become more confident through inclusion in the group and the broader community.
The Centre is supported by Woodbine Inc and is now open to communities in the broader shire of Hindmarsh.
Men’s Sheds Bat for Will
STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION
The Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) and Where There’s a Will (Willo) have come together to increase awareness and inclusion for people with disabilities across the Men’s Shed community.
What’s involved?
There are a few ways you can be involved in the project, with the most simple being to transform a cricket bat into a piece of art to submit for the Men’s Sheds Bat for Will Exhibition (to be held in early 2023). You can read the Men’s Shed Bat for Will FAQs for more information.
Fill out the Expression of Interest Form so we can keep in touch with information about the project and exhibition: https://mensshed.org/news-events/mens-sheds-bat-for-will-expression-of-interest/
Our Patrons
We have had the pleasure of meeting Will and the team.
Will’s passion and enthusiasm are infectious and what Where There’s a Will has accomplished is highly impressive. From a simple idea – teaching Will skills through refurbished cricket bats – to a growing community across Australia, Where There’s a Will is having a big impact.
They are creating awareness about the ability in disability and encouraging communities to come together to integrate and support those with a disability. It is an uplifting and inspiring journey and Linda and I are delighted to be part of it.
We look forward to supporting the team as joint Patrons and encourage all Australians to join us”.
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Her Excellency, Mrs Hurley.
A Current Affair
“The Last Over” 5th December 2021
Paive io
“People Inspiring People” October 2019
How to be a Willo Artist
Creating a piece of artwork on a cricket bat is open to anyone who would like to work with Willo. There are no rules or restrictions and the bat will be supplied by Willo ready to paint.
You don’t need to be an artist… you simply need to want to be involved and have an interest in making a difference.
You may know someone who would love to paint, either way let us know and we will send you a bat meticulously refurbished by our team throughout Australia.
Please contact us to register your interest.
How to be a Willo Community
Willo is empowering and uniting communities through art, ability and inclusion.
The Willo Community is currently a collection of over 800 artists, community groups and individuals supporting and responding to creting places of belonging and comnection. To become a Willo community you simply need to want to be a more inclusive place to live.
If you would like to be a Willo community please contact us.
How to send us your bats
We source the second hand bats from schools, cricket clubs, privately and through communities.
Any old bats will be welcomed and bats that have been left in sheds and unused or potentially to be thrown out will be recycled and given a beautiful new purpose and home.
If you would like to send us a bat directly please contact us.
WILLO MOMENTS
Ben Will & Steve
A few weeks ago we were contacted by Harley, manager to...
A Man of Influence
On the 18th January 2021 Will was listed in the 20 Most...
Inclusion
When our story went to air on the 5th December this year...
Simon Bouda and ACA
We have been sharing Wills Last Over at cricket on...
The Australian Navy takes Willo to the Middle East
We met Commodore Chris Smallhorn and his wife Kerina from...
Willo goes to London House
Our amazing exhibition, Warooka Bats for Will, brought...
Our family have started visiting Will at his new home.
It’s been two months of extreme anxiety with everything in his life changing. A small community that knew him to no one knowing him as he walks along the road to the shops. Waving and looking for familiarity.
A new home new room new people. A new way of living. No family no hugs and none of the little things that offer peace and stability to the day.
It is the reason why so many families choose not to let go. The safety and certainty of the known. The fear of what might happen and sadness of our children not truly being seen. We fear so much because we have good reason to fear. Society is not always kind or understanding. Small communities do not always offer good choices.
However, when we choose to let go we are allowing something to shift. We are offering growth and opportunity and what that looks like we don’t truly ever know but it could be surprising or excruciating and sometimes, amazing.
In letting go we offer space for people to learn and grow and sometimes it’s great and it works the way we hope, and there are times it’s hard and we realize our fears.
Wills new home and support team fit into the amazing.
We are completely in awe of the care and kindness of his new family of carers. We finally feel we can sit back and let Will move into his new life knowing so many people have his back, they are walking shoulder to shoulder with him and are leading him towards his best life.
The greatest gift we can give our children is to let them be, to let them experience this world and then, the gift we can give to ourselves is to let them teach us and show us the way to an authentic life.
Thank you
Forsight, @flagstaff_group , @greenacres.disability.services @pkcricket1912 and @kiamagolfclub
One of the most amazing and special experiences in our time as a Charity was meeting the Governor General of Australia and Mrs Hurley and for them to accept our invitation to become our Patrons.
So as part of closing the Charity we met with them both at Government House in Canberra last week and talked through our work, exchanged gifts, explained our reasons and then, we sang. It’s not unusual for Mrs Hurley to sing as she has a beautiful voice but to have a private concert and for us all to sing together was an end to an extraordinary time for us.
Thank you to the Robertson Men’s Shed for the bat by Graham gifted to @gg_australia
We have made the decision to close our Charity, Where There’s a Will or better known as Willo.
To the 850 artists who believed in us, our 12 communities, our Patrons, Ben and our supporters - we have experienced the most extraordinary moments our family, Will and I, could have ever imagined. Thank you.
This decision has not come without a great deal of heartache and sadness, but we feel an overwhelming need to stop for now, and just focus on Wills life.
This work allowed us to travel over 40,000 kms together across Australia sharing moments, building bridges and having conversations that strengthened our resolve and gave us hope of a more inclusive country for all those who are deemed different.
For Will, my mum and I, it was a precious time of being together and we had an incredible adventure.
What I always knew and hoped people would see and experience, is that Will is the teacher to us all. To be yourself in a world that constantly wants us to be more and wants us to fit in, is brave.
These old cricket bats and Wills determined heart and deep desire to be seen have inspired, influenced, educated and created change beyond what many educated and abled people can achieve.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Charity, who saw Will.
We will be closing our website over the next few weeks and we will keep our Instagram and Facebook open as a legacy.
We will transfer any stories from our website that represent the work of the charity.
Thank you.
Happy birthday beautiful Will
This is my wish for you:
“Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life”.
#ralphwaldoemerson
Thank you everyone for your care and interest in Wills big move away from home.
It’s been tough and yet we’ve had extraordinary moments of coming together and care.
Many moments of extreme anxiety as you can imagine, when everything you know has changed. Everything that was familiar is now unfamiliar. Routine, people and home, is all new.
It’s taken an immense level of support and care from everyone involved with Will to keep him safe and to guide him through this change. To show him we have his back and for him to feel .. it will be ok.
And that’s what matters.
It takes a village 💕 and our children and friends who live with any level of challenge need their community to lean in and see them and offer pathways to include and build authentic relationships.
You will be the one that benefits.
@whatability @whatabilityfoundation @keeganhipgrave
Where There’s A Will Ltd
ABN 14 634 182 497
Registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR)
44 May Street
Robertson NSW 2578
P: +61 2 427 110 968
E: hello@wheretheresawill.org.au
