People with Purpose: Ten years on and still Cohen strong

Tell us a bit about your career background.

My journey began unexpectedly.

While studying commerce at Monash University, I received a random phone call from a mum. She had heard that I played soccer, and I was asked to kick a soccer ball around with a young autistic guy.

We hung out and we clicked. The relationship flourished and we became great friends. That simple interaction opened my eyes to the world of disability and the profound impact of genuine connections.

One thing led to another, and I was ultimately inspired to found Flying Fox.

How exactly did you come to start Flying Fox?

After working in disability and volunteering with camp organisations and youth groups, I noticed a significant gap in social opportunities for young people with disability in my community.

In 2014, with a group of friends, we organised our first camp under the banner Camp Sababa. We spent a year planning the one camp, organising logistics, planning for incidents and risks, and recruiting 39 Year 12 graduates to support 19 young people with disability on the four-day camp on Philip Island.

It just worked. It was an incredibly memorable experience for everyone involved. The overwhelmingly positive response highlighted the need for social connectivity, leading to the expansion into Flying Fox as we know it today.

How would you describe Flying Fox's mission?

Our mission is to provide fun-filled, social experiences for young people with disability. We aim to foster genuine connections between individuals with and without disability as we engage in the pursuit of building a more inclusive community where everyone belongs.

How has Flying Fox made a difference in the community?

We have always prioritised providing opportunities for young people to lead.

Today, the average age of our staff is just 22. We help individuals to take on leadership roles – often before they feel ready – by providing mentorship and the right scaffolding to ensure they succeed.

This is innovative because society doesn’t always recognise the capability of young people to do the work that we do.

We offer experiences to young people who often have complex support needs, and we take calculated risks in empowering them to engage in the adventures we create away from the safety of routine and home.

Another innovative step was acquiring our own holiday house, Tova House, located just an hour north of Melbourne.

This dedicated space has allowed us to host countless camps and social events, creating a consistent and welcoming environment for our participants.

It has become a home away from home and enabled us to scale significantly. We now own two houses and are actively exploring how property ownership can support our future growth strategy.

What is the most important thing you have learned from your experience at Flying Fox?

The most profound lesson we’ve learned is the power of empowering young people.

By centring youth leadership, we have built an organisation where young people have developed a deep passion for disability, brought their friends to the cause, and created experiences for people with disability that go beyond anything that could have been designed by adults alone.

We are the organisation we are today because our young leaders have been nothing short of extraordinary.