Giving to organisations with a big mission at heart facilitates lifechanging and meaningful impact to the next generation and beyond.
That’s why youth mental health charity, zero2hero, is encouraging corporations to prioritise supporting young minds this year.
“zero2hero has many opportunities, big and small, for corporate supporters to engage with impacting our programs, in a way that facilitates lifechanging and long-term impact,” zero2hero Partnerships & Fundraising Manager Oscar Wharton said.
Corporates and individuals can donate to impact a young life in many ways, including by volunteering to mentor at zero2hero’s flagship Camp Hero program, attending one of their fundraising events, hosting a fundraiser, becoming a corporate partner, or simply making a donation.
“A donation of just $75 allows us to impact a young person through one of our mental health programs and helps to make a real difference to future generations,” Mr Wharton said.
“With one in four young people currently dealing with mental health problems, zero2hero’s work is more important than ever. To continue impacting thousands of young people in Western Australia each year zero2hero relies on mutually beneficial community and corporate partnerships that help deepen our impact.”
Donations ensure that future generations of “young heroes” have the resilience, confidence and skills to not only navigate their own mental health, but to identify and assist others to do the same and ultimately help to prevent suicide in Australia.
How to give
There’s a role in the zero2hero mission for everyone, with various volunteering and partnership opportunities throughout the year for people who’d like to get involved.
“We host our flagship five-day program, Camp Hero LEADERSHIP, multiple times throughout the year, and are always seeking dynamic mentors to provide support to our young leaders who attend. No experience is needed to mentor, just a positive attitude, being a good role model and time to volunteer is all that’s needed,” Mr Wharton said.
“Camp was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Darren O’Donnell, WA business owner and previous camp mentor, said. "To be able to watch 34 kids develop and grow into young leaders and develop life skills that will be with them for the rest of their lives, is truly very special. On top of that, I feel like I was able to get as much out of it for my personal growth as they did."
We also have partnership opportunities available for all our major fundraising events this year, such as the Red Cape Ball, cape2cape Trek and The Heroes Lunch. Without corporate partners at these events, we truly wouldn’t be able to create the impact that we do,” Mr Wharton said.
Making a difference
“It takes the heroic effort of individuals looking to make a difference in order for us to continue to grow our impact for young people across WA. In 2023, zero2hero was fortunate to meet many incredible people who wanted to undertake a heroic challenge of their own in order to raise life-changing funds for zero2hero,” Mr Wharton said.
For example, Rob Barton became the first person to row solo non-stop for nearly three months from Carnarvon to Africa, all in the name of mental health awareness. Rob was fuelled by his daughter’s previous struggles with her mental health, leading him to take on the enormous challenge.
Robs Row saw him take on a nearly 9,000km journey to raise essential funds and awareness for zero2hero. The amazing endeavour connected the WA community in response to his amazing effort and raised an incredible $150,000 for youth mental health.
Local hero Goran Utjesinovic wanted to support zero2hero by hosting a unique event, The Big Dig, in November 2023. The Big Dig was a fundraising event that saw him commit to digging a one-metre deep trench with a shovel for 24 hours, moving a staggering 100 tonnes of earth.
The Big Dig provided an outlet for members of the construction industry to come together and make a difference for youth mental health.
“My take on life is shaped by the belief that the future of our industry is in the hands of the young minds coming through the ranks. The Big Dig is not just about moving earth, it's about moving mountains for the next generation,” Mr Utjesinovic said.
Three other teams joined Goran, committing to the 24-hour challenge to dig alongside him. Together, they raised an amazing $95,000.
Ambitious plans
In 2023, zero2hero impacted 32,507 young people, educated 20,680 students across 246 schools in WA, trained 611 people in suicide prevention, and hosted 490 young leaders at Camp Hero. In 2024, zero2hero will work hard to continue to increase these numbers to make it their biggest year yet.
“Particular focus will see us expand our programs into the most vulnerable regions of WA, helping break down barriers of access for disadvantaged young people to ensure that essential youth mental health education programs reach the most vulnerable communities,” Mr Wharton said.
“We will also be exploring program expansion into early childhood education. We’ve got a strong commitment to working in every WA high school and we’re starting to move towards also working in every primary school in the state.
“We believe the education around mental health needs to start earlier because the rates of illness are getting younger, so any preventative measures need to be ahead of that.”
