Our Story

one question changed everything

CommShare began with a simple but powerful belief:

Every young person deserves to feel seen, heard, and connected.

Our founder, Mitchell, an 11-year-old (at the time), Zimbabwean-born student knew firsthand what it feels like to walk into a school and feel unsure of where you belong.

Growing up as a migrant young person in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, she experienced moments of isolation — times when starting conversations felt difficult and support felt distant.

But those experiences didn’t lead to discouragement.
They sparked a vision.

Mitchell began asking a question that would shape the next eight years:

What if schools weren’t just places of learning — but places of genuine connection?

Let's Start from the Beginning

Where It Started

CommShare started in South Australia as a student-led initiative designed to bring young people together face-to-face — not through screens, not through one-off programs, but through consistent, welcoming spaces inside schools.

In 2018, we piloted CommShare as a lunchtime program in a northern suburbs school — and importantly, it wasn’t adults running it alone. The CommShare student team helped lead the pilot, working alongside Mitchell to shape what it looked like week to week.

This initial team of Year 6 students worked together to organise activities, welcome peers, set up sessions and create an environment that felt safe and inclusive. They weren’t just participants — they were leaders. They made decisions, solved problems, and took ownership of their space - all with humble teacher guidance and continuous staff feedback.

What began with small activities — board games, creative arts, open conversations — quickly became something much bigger. Students who had never spoken to each other before were collaborating. Young people who rarely engaged in school life began showing up weekly. Barriers softened. Leadership emerged.

We saw confidence grow.
We saw belonging form.
We saw what happens when young people are trusted to lead.

That pilot confirmed what we believed all along:

Connection is prevention. Leadership is empowerment. Community is protection.

Bringing the team together

How Our Board Was Formed

CommShare was never meant to be a one-person idea. From the beginning, we knew this needed to be community-built.

Over the years, we have grown through consultation, guidance and collaboration with:

  • Young leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds
  • CALD community representatives
  • Educators and school wellbeing teams
  • Government representatives aligned with youth strategy
  • Community organisations already working on the ground
  • Leaders connected to Empowering African Youth initiatives
  • Volunteers from organisations such as ARA
  • Youth mentors involved in community homework clubs

Our board reflects the very communities we serve — multicultural, intergenerational, diverse in lived experience and united by one purpose: to create sustainable, student-led spaces where young people thrive.

We listened carefully to youth consultation findings, including insights from the Youth Action Plan 2024–2027. Young people told us they feel lonely. They struggle to find information about services. They want more inclusive schools. They want stronger intervention around bullying. They want practical knowledge about life beyond school — tax, consent, driving safety, nutrition, mental health.

We built CommShare in direct response to those voices.

So why us

What Makes CommShare Different

There are many youth programs.

CommShare is the intersection.

We don’t replace existing services — we bring them together in one accessible, familiar hub inside schools. We bridge the gap between student voice and community organisations.

Through partnerships with youth organisations and local community groups, CommShare creates a recurring lunchtime space where:

  • Students vote on what sessions they want
  • Student leadership teams are trained to run activities
  • Local organisations host interactive, culturally safe sessions
  • Creative arts, sports, talent showcases and homework clubs break down social barriers
  • Practical life education becomes engaging and accessible
  • Multicultural and Aboriginal representation is visible and valued

This isn’t a one-off workshop.
It’s not a guest speaker who disappears after an hour.

It’s embedded into the school term.
It’s student-run.
It’s ongoing.

Each participating school receives a toolkit and leadership framework to establish its own CommShare team — just as our Year 6 leaders did during the pilot — building confidence, responsibility and peer mentorship in ways traditional programs often don’t.

Fast forward

Why It Matters Now

Many communities are rich in culture, resilience and potential — yet they also face economic disadvantage, social disengagement and rising youth crime. Many young people report difficulty accessing services simply because they don’t know where to start.

We believe prevention doesn’t always look like therapy rooms and crisis response.

Sometimes it looks like:

  • A lunchtime talent show.
  • A conversation about consent led by trusted facilitators.
  • A nutrition session with local sports groups.
  • A creative arts circle where someone feels included for the first time.
  • A Year 6 student confidently leading an activity for their peers.

Mental health grows in connection.
Belonging reduces isolation.
Leadership interrupts disengagement.

CommShare aligns with South Australia’s commitments to youth mental health, inclusion and safe communities, expanding support across all diverse communities that make up our state.

This movement is about doing more — and doing it earlier.

A Movement, Not Just a Program

...and always

The journey of our young leaders — from migrant students feeling uncertain in school hallways, to supporting homework clubs, volunteering in culturally inclusive education programs, and working alongside youth initiatives — shapes CommShare with lived experience and insight.

CommShare is bigger than one story.

It is a growing network of students, leaders, organisations and community partners who believe that schools can become powerful hubs of belonging.

We are just getting started.

Our vision is to pilot and expand CommShare as a recurring lunchtime initiative across schools in the northern suburbs — building a scalable model that strengthens youth health, leadership, social inclusion and practical life knowledge.

Because when young people feel connected,
they feel confident.
When they feel confident,
they make stronger choices.
When they make stronger choices,
communities thrive.

The Future We See


We see schools where every student — regardless of culture, background or circumstance — feels represented.

We see young leaders running their own initiatives.

We see students mentoring younger peers.

We see organisations collaborating instead of operating in silos.

We see prevention before crisis.

We see South Australian youth growing not only as students, but as global citizens — healthy, informed, expressive and united.

CommShare began with one young person asking, “What if we could do better?”

Today, we are answering that question — together.

Welcome to CommShare.
Where community is shared.
And every voice matters.

Let's Connect

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@commshare