IN the heart of Australia’s bustling cities and quiet regional towns, a silent crisis persists. Youth homelessness affects more than 45,000 young people, each with a story, a face, and a future hanging in the balance.
Yet amid the fairways and greens of Concord Golf Club, hope took a powerful swing in early December at the Chappell Foundation’s Annual Sydney Golf Day, which represented a rallying call to confront one of Australia’s most urgent social challenges.
Founded by cricket legend Greg Chappell AO and Darshak Mehta OAM in 2017, The Chappell Foundation is entirely volunteer-driven, it has no employees, no offices, and no overheads. More than 99.6 per cent of funds raised, after essential event and compliance costs, flow directly to its seven partner charities.
In 2025 alone, thanks to the generosity of supporters, the foundation donated $611,000 to organisations working on the frontline of youth homelessness.
Those partners: BackTrack, Stepping Stone House, WAYS Youth & Family, Raw Potential Canberra, Coffee Brigade, Burdekin, and Taldumande Youth Services, form a powerful national network. Each delivers tailored, transformative programs that provide young people with safety, stability, and renewed opportunity.
Greg Chappell flew in from Adelaide for the day at Concord, his golf swing as elegant as his famous cricket on-drive. Watching him navigate the course is much like watching him bat: consistently pure strikes, with the occasional thunderous shot that keeps everyone on their toes.
From left, Greg Chappell, Darshak Mehta and Dr Janakiraman (Indian Consul General, Sydney) on the 16th hole at Concord where Darshak (Chairman of the Chappell Foundation) had a hole in one on their annual charity golf day.
Joining Chappell were distinguished guests including India’s Consul-General, H.E. Dr S. Janakiraman, a sharp nine-handicapper, venues NSW Chair David Gallop and former Sydney Swans premiership hero Nick Davis (a scratch golfer), who added further sporting pedigree to the field.
Amid the competitive banter, a magical moment unfolded on the 16th hole. Foundation Chairman Darshak Mehta, enduring what he described as a “dismal round,” redeemed himself spectacularly with a hole-in-one.
On the par-3 sixth, players took aim at a sleek BMW courtesy of Canterbury BMW, but the prized vehicle remained unclaimed, setting the stage for next year’s challenge.
The event transitioned into a lively dinner. TCF Director Daniel Odman emceed drawing out reflections from Greg Chappell on sport, service, and social responsibility. The emotional high point came from Dr Terri Said, CEO of WAYS Youth & Family, who painted a vivid picture of Australia’s youth homelessness crisis, sharing moving stories of young lives turned around, teenagers finding stability through counselling, housing support, and family reconciliation, made possible through the foundation’s targeted funding.
WAYS, based in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs since 1979, works with youth aged 8-24 and their families, offering pathways out of hardship through community-based programs.
Similarly, BackTrack in Armidale has been a beacon since 2006, providing holistic youth work, education, accommodation, and job training to keep kids “alive, out of jail, and chasing their dreams.” Founded by Bernie Shakeshaft, an Australian of the Year nominee, it uses innovative approaches like animal-assisted therapy and vocational skills to turn vulnerable lives around.
Stepping Stone House offers long-term refuge for at-risk or homeless youth, guiding them from adolescence to adulthood with education and life skills under their “Stepping Stones to Independence” model.
In Canberra, Raw Potential (formerly Youth Care Canberra) delivers outreach to 12-25-year-olds facing homelessness, providing non-judgmental support to break poverty cycles and foster bright futures.
Brisbane’s Coffee Brigade, a volunteer powerhouse since 1970, hits the streets daily with coffee vans, serving food, conversation, and care to those in hardship…365 days a year.
Burdekin, operating in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, prevents homelessness for ages 9-24 through safe housing, family reconciliation, and wellbeing support.
Rounding out the group, Taldumande Youth Services, established in 1976, provides a continuum of care across greater Sydney for vulnerable 12-24-year-olds, including accommodation and specialised social work.
The success of the day was amplified by the generosity of sponsors including Equity Trustees, Venues NSW, Canterbury BMW, Neo Health, State Bank of India, iSoft, and Callaway Golf.
The Chappell Foundation’s Golf Day is a reminder that a single swing, or a single act of generosity, can change a life’s trajectory. With youth homelessness stubbornly high, the time to act is now. After all, in golf and in life, every hole offers a fresh start.
For more information about The Chappell Foundation and its work, go to the website at https://thechappellfoundation.com/ – Andrew Crockett
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