About us

The Fresh Tracks' Foundation vision is to improve the quality of life of young people suffering from an acquired brain injury. Click on the PDF icon to download The Fresh Tracks Foundation - Memorandum of Information.

Fresh Tracks has three goals:

1. To raise funds for critical ongoing rehabilitation, age-appropriate accommodation and specialised equipment young Australian people with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
2. To raise awareness of the issues surrounding ABI within the wider community
3. To provide financial support to families of young people with ABI

What Is Acquired Brain Injury?

Acquired brain injury is a complex and individual condition.

People with an acquired brain injury may have difficulty controlling, coordinating and communicating their thoughts and actions, but generally retain their intellectual abilities.

There is little awareness and understanding in the community about brain injury and the impact it can have. The brain controls every part of our being: physical, intellectual and emotional. Even a mild brain injury can result in a serious disability, often for the rest of a sufferer’s life.

Examples of acquired brain injuries include Multiple Sclerosis, brain tumours, strokes, traumatic brain injuries caused by an accident or fall or other degenerative neurological diseases.

Young people with a brain injury tend to get tired more quickly, have difficulty with short-term memory and find it difficult to concentrate. However, they often do not lose their intelligence; they lose the ability to communicate and function physically.

Rehabilitation is vital for a person’s recovery. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and music therapy all help them to relearn skills. They also need specialised equipment.

Equally important for the best possible recovery is living with people the same age.

The vast majority of young people with brain injury end up in aged care facilities. This is despite their largely unaffected intellectual capacity.

The establishment of the Fresh Tracks Foundation is attributed to a young man by the name of Sam Carson, aged 26, who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in October 2009. The Fresh Tracks Foundation was established to raise awareness of and provide much-needed funds for Sam and young people like him in Australia living with an acquired brain injury, often in aged care facilities. Sam’s family is now trying to source a long-term care solution for him and the lack of support and available solutions has become apparent to them and their extended network. It is for this reason they have come together to assist Sam and other young Australians who face similar prospects.

The Trustee for Fresh Tracks Foundation is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) from 27 May 2011.  It is covered by Item 1 of the table I section 30-15 of the Income Tax Foundation Assessment Act 1997.

ABN: 49 197 492 992