Kmart has revealed the results of the school transformation project it undertook in partnership with the Reach Foundation.
Announcing the secret project in March, the retailer transformed The Bowen College's campus, updating the rooms with Kmart's homewares range to create a safe and positive space for the students to thrive in.
The Bowen College is attended by a small group of 15 students who have become disengaged from mainstream education and who are experiencing disadvantage.
The school is situated in an 11-room house and is one of Father Chris Riley's 'Youth Off The Streets' six accredited, independent high schools.
Counselling Room
The school takes a holistic approach to education and works with young people to create a positive future.
The teaching staff provide individual support to students using therapeutic and restorative practices to assist the students in all areas of their life, including issues outside of school.
To support the school provide the best experience for students it can, Kmart made-over the 11 rooms with help from the Reach Foundation, Real Living and Home Beautiful editor Elle Lovelock and its wider influencer community.
Lovelock added her styling touches to the spaces, while the wider influencer community were invited to style three of the school's rooms (kitchen, dining and living).
The submitted designs were reviewed by the Reach team and the favourites were selected to come to life in the space.
Lounge
Kmart CEO John Gualtieri said this project was especially important to the retailer, given a large proportion of its team are young people.
"Young people are at the core of everything we do here at Kmart.
"With 70% of out team under the age of 21, we know how important it is to give them tools and skills to help them thrive in life and fulfil their potential.
"We are so proud to continue to honour our partnership with The Reach Foundation and give back in a way that directly enhances the lives of these young people, providing them with a space they can flourish in," he said.
Bike room
In total, the project took 18 months from ideation to execution, with some hurdles - the pandemic and recent floods - encountered along the way.
The Bowen College acting school manager Jeni Lee added that the makeover will hold a special place in the hearts of the students and school community.
"The young people we work with often face challenging circumstances outside of school.
"An iconic organisation like Kmart donating its time and resources to give these students a special place to learn and develop is an act of generosity that we - and the school community - will never forget," she said.
Kmart Group head of community Kate Thiedeman added that the reactions of the students was a memorable moment for the Kmart team.
"Their reaction was both priceless and incredibly emotional for us all as we have spent so many months working on this.
"We naturally felt some trepidation about whether the students would like what we have done to their space but when we saw their faces light up, it was truly incredible and all worthwhile," she said.
Living Room
The Reach Foundation senior facilitator Paris Rovedi said the organisation was proud to have Kmart's support for over six years.
"Kmart continue to go above and beyond to help champion the need for our work.
"Connecting young people we work with, at places like the Bowen College, to our mates at Kmart is what great partnerships are all about.
"Together we've been lucky enough to give these young people the space to dream, back each other in and be themselves," she said.
Scroll through the gallery above to view the full before-and-after photos.