Partnership makes waves in community

A recent partnership between Revo Fitness and not-for-profit organisation Ocean Heroes has demonstrated the impact these collaborations can have and their potential to deliver meaningful community change.

The health-and-wellness-focused business and similarly motivated charity combined their resources to raise nearly $250,000 at a fundraiser in April.

Ocean Heroes co-founder Luke Hallam said the charitable organisation was amazed by the results of the annual 24 Hour Swim event.

“Giving is generally down around Australia at the moment and we were like, ‘Let’s set a goal to hit $100,000’,” Mr Hallam told Business News.

“We ended up more than doubling that, raising $214,000, which blew our minds.

“The [fundraising event] takes up a huge part of our team for a good couple of months, and we were a little bit worried in the lead up to it with cost of living and interest rates all rising.

“We were just so amazed at the communities that rallied around us … and to have the support of Revo, [especially] a big brand name that a lot of people love.”

Ocean Heroes was founded in 2016 to teach children with autism to surf, regularly delivering free surfing experiences across Perth, Broome, Esperance and Albany.

In 2023, the not for profit established a base in NSW, with co-founder Sam Moyle relocating to facilitate events on the east coast.

Ocean Heroes runs the 24 Hour Swim fundraiser every year as part of its promotion of autism awareness.

This year’s was the fourth event, held at Scarborough Beach Pool from April 19-20.

About 300 participants swam a combined 1,832 kilometres over the 24-hour period.

The 24 Hour Swim master of ceremonies, Cameron Branch, wearing event merchandise. Photo: DG Imagery

Revo Fitness stepped in to sponsor the event, with Mr Hallam saying the fitness company’s support was invaluable and showed business commitment to community investment.

“With Revo … they are always out in the community, so I think people just generally really like the company as a brand,” Mr Hallam said.

“I often think companies can look at community investment as just a box to tick and go, ‘Oh, we’ve done something good’.

“But I think it’s really important to create a partnership where you have a shared value system. With Revo, they want to provide affordable access to fitness, and that ties in with what we do at Ocean Heroes.”

Revo sponsors a variety of local sporting organisations including Perth Wildcats and Claremont Football Club and provides funding to a mix of grassroots programs within the realm of health and fitness.

Mr Hallam said it only made sense for businesses to support the community they operated in.

“On a broader scale, I think it’s the responsibility of every organisation, whether it is just within their local community or further than that, to be doing something positive,” he said.

“It’s something that is already shifting with the ESG frameworks that are put in place. It just depends on companies and what their goals are.

“But if you are working and living in a community, you should be doing whatever you can to make sure that community is positive for everybody who lives there.”

While Mr Hallam believes community investment should be part of every company’s ESG framework, he said it shouldn’t become a strict obligation as this risks the authenticity and value of the investment.

“To put a boundary in place is great in some ways but can also be a hindrance in others because then it becomes black and white,” Mr Hallam said.

“We, as Ocean Heroes, we never form a partnership with an organisation that we don’t have a prior relationship with.

“We’ve turned down money from organisations because they don’t fit within our value framework, and we have also sought funding from other organisations [and not received it] because we don’t fit within their value framework.”

Revo Fitness founder and managing director Andrew Holder said it made business sense to give back to community.

“It is important to give back to the communities where our members live,” Mr Holder told Business News.

“It isn’t just about positive social impact; it makes business sense, too.

“The service Luke and Ocean Heroes provide to families on the spectrum aligns with our mission of keeping the community active and providing inclusive opportunities for everyone to stay healthy.

“We can support a great cause and improve the wellbeing of many members of the community who may not be able to use our gyms, [and] we can achieve our mission of keeping the community active through Ocean Heroes surfing events, while also building our brand awareness locally.”

Some of the 300 participants who swam a combined 1,832 kilometres for Ocean Heroes’ 24 Hour Swim fundraiser. Photo: DG Imagery

People are becoming more receptive to ESG commitments, and many of those people looking for work are seeking employers who deliver social investment and contribute to community.

Mr Hallam said it was vital for those employers to invest in areas of community that they, and their staff, were passionate about. “People, employees, are getting smarter,” he said.

“[If they are looking] to work for an organisation, they want to make sure that company is serving their community and not just itself.

“And if you are an organisation looking to form a partnership with a charity, you’re also going to need to link it in with what your staff believe in.”

Mr Hallam said this passion was clear with Revo staff, many of whom had previously volunteered with Ocean Heroes.

“There was already a tie-in, and then to actually formalise a partnership with Revo has just been so special,” he said.

“It just creates this really strong community drive to push forward.

“The Revo team who swam in the 24 Hour Swim were there all hours, from four o’clock Friday [afternoon] to four o’clock Saturday [afternoon].

Andrew Holder was there in the graveyard shift from twelve till two in the morning.

“That’s the sort of thing that shows the rest of the organisation that Revo is serious about helping their community.” The funds raised at Ocean Heroes’ 24 Hour Swim will be used to deliver 34 free events in Western Australia throughout the remainder of 2024.

This will give more than 2,500 children with disability the opportunity to enjoy the ocean and try their hand at surfing.

Mr Hallam said Ocean Heroes planned to expand throughout Australia over the next few years, and the success of the 24 Hour Swim and Revo’s support had provided the foundations to do so.

“[The funding] gives us a real floor to stand on to expand, and we are in a real expansion phase at the moment,” he said.

“Not only is it great for WA and expanding what we do here, but it’s also giving us a bit of a footing to be able to commit to expanding into NSW, which we’re already doing.

“There are a lot of people all around Australia who are missing out on accessing the ocean safely.

“We want to be that organisation to change that.

“Everybody with autism in Australia should have the same access to the ocean as everyone else.”