Lolly Jar Circus Inc.

Lolly Jar Circus is passionate about young people feeling esteemed and reaching their potential.  We are passionate about including young people with disabilities or socially at risk.  Our name and logo represent who we are, what we do and why.  We are a safe and joyful space for young people of different shapes, sizes, colours and tastes to come together.  There is no lid on our lolly jar as we want the "lollies" to bounce out happily and confidently to the rest of their lives. We help do this through regular social circus classes, where they learn to face fear, fail, persist, succeed, share, make friends and respect themselves and each other in a fun, safe and supportive atmosphere.  We achieve amazing results already and are only held back by resources and finances.  We would use the funding to train more circus trainers in our inclusive, nurturing practices, to increase the number of our classes, to buy more accessible equipment, to create a publishable template for other organisations in Australia and around the world to become inclusive and to assist our voluntary CEO to cope with the added workload by employing a casual assistant.  

The vision of Lolly Jar Circus is to reach more and more young people and bring acceptance, joy, health and confidence into their lives.  We currently have many participants with autism, some with Down Syndrome or other chromosomal disorders, some with cerebral palsy, others with muscular weakness.  We have participants who are under the care of the State, either in group homes or fostered.  We have siblings and other young people with open minds and hearts who have no disabilities.  We have many families who are in financial distress.  What is beautiful about LJC is that every single person there is valued equally and highly.  The trainers are well-trained and caring.  The volunteer board is passionate and professional.  And the benefits last and spread throughout the community.  What we want is to reach more young people and to spread benefits further into the community through training more trainers and allowing other people to gain from our learnings and insights over the past 7 1/2 years.

Lolly Jar Circus is a circus school that is inclusive of young people with disabilities or at social risk.  Disability touches people everywhere, of all races and in all countries.  It is often genetic and there is no place at all for blame.  But Lolly Jar Circus has  young participants who have intellectual disabilities as a result of parental abuse or foetal alcohol syndrome.  We give them a community that respects them and wants the best for them.  Poverty touches people everywhere, of all races and in all countries.  By the skin of our teeth, we raise enough money through paying participants, grants and philanthropy to enable young people whose families are in financial distress to attend without paying.  Lack of acceptance of difference is likewise everywhere. We teach young people to respect themselves and each other and believe that this attitude spreads into the wider community. 

There are very few inclusive organisations, in particular circus schools, in the world.  Some organisations have dedicated classes for people with disabilities.  What we do that smashes expectations, is have everyone together in the same classes doing the same activities, with each person working at his or her own pace.  We redefine success - it is not about getting the trick but about the social skills that come through attempting it.  But make no mistake, tricks are achieved too!  We have a participant with autism and low muscle tone who couldn't support his own weight sitting on the floor now doing flips.  There is another with cerebral palsy who can walk on high tie-on stilts.  Others who are very anxious have gone on to take part in school performances for the first time.  There is nothing like hanging upside-down from a trapeze for learning to face fear.  There is nothing more frustrating than learning to juggle but it certainly teaches patience and persistence and succeeding is very rewarding.  We can modify equipment and activities so that everyone succeeds, e.g. juggling scarves which are slower than balls and easier to catch, or using heavier hula hoops which stay up longer.  

We are teaching and modelling acceptance and appreciation of difference.  We are educating the community about what young people, including those with disabilities, can achieve.  We are embracing young people in situations of social risk and teaching them social skills and self-worth.  We achieve this through offering fun and exciting activities.  As one disability advocate said, LJC reminds her of parents trying to get children to eat vegetables by hiding them under the other food on the plate!  We offer so much colour, movement, fun and friendship that the benefits happen organically without feeling forced.  Key to our success is employing and further training exceptional circus trainers to lead the classes.  We do offer one-off outreach classes to schools etc., but it is important to the success of our program for young people to attend regularly, develop relationships of trust, improve physical strength and flexibility and build upon their achievements slowly and gradually.