If you’re passionate about health and fitness and have what it takes to help your community stay fit, strong and connected then we want to hear from you!

Six rural communities across Australia are set to benefit from an annual scholarship program designed to promote health, wellbeing and connection through group fitness.

Developed by Agricultural machinery stalwart Hutcheon & Pearce in partnership with Active Farmers and FIT College in 2021, the EMPOWERED Scholarship program enables 6 deserving recipients the opportunity to complete their Certificate III and Certificate IV in Personal Training at no cost and go on to work with Active Farmers for a minimum of two years in their local communities.

If you’re into fitness and want to help your community stay fit, strong and well we want to hear from you. By applying for an Empowered Scholarship, you could become a qualified personal trainer working in your local community.

Active Farmers is a grass roots organisation that brings farming communities together to counter alarming mental health statistics in the regions through group fitness in a fun, supportive environment. CEO Mark Slater leads a team of 51 qualified personal trainers in 65 small farming communities across the country, reaching some 1500 participants each month, and says the demand for this kind of community support continues to grow.

“One of our biggest challenges is finding trainers in isolated rural communities, so we’re very grateful to Hutcheon & Pearce for creating the EMPOWERED Scholarship program to help rural people access personal training education so they can start their own business and make a difference in their communities.

“These scholarships will really empower the 6 trainers by giving them the qualification and experience they need to go on and use that for the greater good of their communities. And if we can put more local people through this program every year, it means there's so many more communities we'll be able to help, which is really exciting.”

Hutcheon & Pearce Managing Director Arron Hutcheon says the partnership with Active Farmers is the perfect fit.

“We absolutely love the opportunity to work with the Active Farmers team and be part of this scholarship program. Active Farmers is a fantastic organisation with a strong purpose, and we feel closely aligned in values. We rely on the same rural and regional communities and feel the same responsibility to take care of those communities – not only because they are our customers but also because we employ from those communities and we live in them, too. We know that we are nothing without our farming communities and we are happy to be able to contribute to their health and wellbeing in this way.

“It’s our hope that this partnership creates positive momentum: We empower Active Farmers to grow and spread further into farming communities, in turn empowering these motivated individuals to grow and spread that empowerment within their communities. And if it can help just one person with their mental health and wellbeing, to have a positive impact on those alarming statistics, then it will be a win.”

Applications for the EMPOWERED Scholarship program officially open at the end of August and close mid October. Winners will be announced by mid November with a view to starting the course in February 2025.

To enter, applicants must submit a video explaining how an Empowered scholarship would empower them and their community. For those looking to apply.

If you’re ready to get fit and empower your community, learn more and apply at www.hutcheonandpearce.com.au/empowered