Mitch Jenkins, the current North Ballarat City operations and administration officer, has been appointed as an official Kangaroos staff member.
Jenkins also works with the North Ballarat Roosters, which already has a firm link with the Kangaroos.
The appointment strengthens ties between the club and Ballarat, with Jenkins to carry out his role solely in the city.
He has been appointed as the multicultural program co-ordinator in Ballarat and will work mainly with immigrants to introduce them to sport and football.
The 23-year-old will also play a role in a number of Ballarat schools’ football programs.
He said it was a huge honour to be North Melbourne’s first Ballarat-based employee.
“It’s all about having a greater presence in Ballarat and this helps move towards that,” he said.
Jenkins will work as part of the Kangaroos’ community arm - the Huddle - which encourages social cohesion and targets disengagement among young people.
Now Jenkins is responsible for extending the Huddle’s coverage area to Ballarat.
The Huddle general manager Dr Sonja Hood said North Melbourne was already looking forward to having Jenkins on board.
“We’re very excited about Mitch. He came highly recommended from the Roosters,” Hood said.
“It’s about providing the services we do in North Melbourne and taking them to Ballarat.”
In 2010, almost 5000 young people accessed one or more of The Huddle’s programs, with students from almost every school in North Melbourne, Kensington, and Flemington visiting The Huddle at least once.
Jenkins starts his Ballarat-based role today.
