(PDF 2.4MB)The property industry is showing their heart this winter with a fundraising campaign for homeless kids. Austcorp and numerous other property industry organisations this year participated in the National Hard Hat Day for homeless kids.
Austcorp is pleased to report that over 32% of employees contributed to the National Hard Hat Day event, and raised $2,429.27. Austcorp has committed to mataching staff contributions, bringing the total to $4,858.54.
Australia is Facing a Crisis in Yourth Homelessness
Every night 22,000 teenagers are homeless - twice the number there was 20 years ago.
One in two homeless youths are turned away from emergency accommodation every night because services are full. This is totally unacceptable in a country as prosperous as Australia.
The time to act is now.
The Campaign
The Property Industry Foundation (PIF) has launched their 2008 National Hard Hat campaign – aiming to raise more than $240,000 for homeless kids. The National Hard Hat campaign will be held throughout the months of May - July.
The campaign encourages people throughout the property and construction industry to donate at least one hour of their pay to children's charities.
Proceeds from this campaign will go towards Salvation Army Oasis Program to refurbish their classrooms, so that street kids can access educational opportunities for a better life.
"I can remember things when I was about 3 years old, and that's like getting shifted from one place to another. You know I was in and out of children's homes, foster families, so they sent me to a so called Sergeant in the Army and I sent him round the bend, that's how bad I was. And I got flogged when I was 10 years old. I mean flogged to a fu**ing pulp, you know I ended up in hostpital. Something was taken from me from that flogging. Honestly it fu**ing was. I had my first shot of heroin by the age of 14 and that heroin really just let me just shut down you know. Helped me shut off all my feelings, all my thoughts,. It was as close as being dead you could get except for being dead. you know there's gotta be something better than this, there fu**ing has to be."
– Darren, in the documentary The Oasis
If you or your organization would like to get behind this worthy cause then please go to the Property Industry Foundation's National Hard Hat Day web site at www.nationalhardhatday.org.
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