Telco Together Announces Community Partners

The Telco Together Foundation today announced four new community partners, marking the Foundation’s first act of giving since its launch in July this year.

 

The Inspire Foundation, Red Dust Role Models, SecondBite and Sports Without Borders will jointly benefit from funding support and access to volunteers coordinated through the Foundation. Long-term benefits to the Foundation’s community partners will likely include sharing expertise and access to resources from within the industry to enhance charity operations.

With a vision to harness the reach and capability of the telecommunications industry to support disadvantaged communities, the Foundation has worked steadily over the past six months, assessing hundreds of worthwhile charities, to find one best-fit community partner within each of the Foundation’s areas of focus - Indigenous communities, homelessness & food insecurity, mental health & personal crisis and social inclusion. 

 

“It has been extremely rewarding to discover how many effective charities operate within the Foundation’s four key focus areas, and the wide range of support programs offered at bothlocal and national levels within Australia, “ said Renee Bowker, CEO of the Telco Together Foundation.

 

With many charities and programs in need of support, it was essential that the decision making process was strategic and streamlined.

Three key components considered during the selection process included; the impact of community partner programs on disadvantaged communities, transparency of operations, and financial responsibility.

 

“I am delighted with the high calibre of charities we have secured as community partners. All four organisations have adopted a unique approach to addressing challenges within their respective areas. This innovative and thought-leading approach to supporting disadvantaged communities on a national scale, while maintaining high levels of integrity and management, resonates well with the

 

Foundation’s vision and was fundamental to our decision to align support,” said Bowker.

"The level of engagement that is building throughout the industry is fantastic, and we will be working hard to ensure that this translates into a significant contribution to our community partners, and the communities that they support." said Bowker.  

 

The Foundation launched in July with ten Founding Members, which included industry leaders such as Optus, Vodafone, NBN Co., M2, AAPT and Dodo. Alcatel-Lucent, Globe Telecom and Smart Business Telecom also joined the Foundation’s expanding member list in recent months. 

 

In addition to member donations,the Foundation has raised almost $100,000 with two industry fundraisers involving member staff.   Upcoming fundraising events already scheduled for 2013 include the Hobart Bridge Run in February, the Sydney Half Marathon in May, and an eagerly anticipated Mount Kilimanjaro trek in November.

 

About Telco Together Foundation

Launched in July 2012, the Telco Together Foundation is a registered charity that brings together the telecommunications industry in support of disadvantaged communities in areas including Indigenous communities, the homeless, mental health and refugees. Creating a unique and wide reaching platform for social change by drawing on the industry’s core capabilities, strengths and access to technology is the cornerstone of the Foundation’s vision

 

Members of the Foundation include Optus, Vodafone, NBN Co, Dodo, M2, AAPT, Alcatel-Lucent, Community Telco, Eftel, Globe Telecom, Smart Business Telecom, Telcoinabox, and Vocus Communications . The Foundation is governed by an Advisory Board that is chaired by NBN Co. CEO Mike Quigley and has CEO level representation from members.

For more information, please visit our website www.telcotogether.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter

 

About Inspire Foundation

The Inspire Foundation helps young people lead happier lives.  By combining the power of technology with the face-to-face involvement of young people, it delivers online programs to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

 

Inspire operates ReachOut.com, Australia’s leading online youth mental health service, which helped more than 500,000 young Australians last year. ReachOut.com aims to help young people to understand what they are going through, shows them they are not alone in their experience, and explains the different help options that are available.

About Red Dust Role Models

Red Dust’s Healthy Living Program involves visits by sports and music professionals and other positive role models to remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory.  The role models, spend a minimum of four days in Indigenous schools and health clinics, building relationships and facilitating mentorship with disadvantaged youth, while conveying important health and education messages.

 

About SecondBite

SecondBite is committed to making a positive difference to people by identifying sources of nutritious surplus fresh food and produce that would otherwise go to waste and facilitating its safe and timely distribution to agencies and people in need.

 

About Sports Without Borders  

Sports Without Borders (SWB) was created in response to an Australian Bureau of Statistics report released in 2006 that found an unacceptable sports participation gap between new migrant and traditional Australian communities. The report showed that young people from ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) communities were two-thirds less likely to play organised sport than their Australian peers.this report to help address and overcome this. We are committed to providing support for young people to access and engage with sport. SWB programs include monetary support such as direct grants and scholarships, training and mentorship programs and accessible, community engagement and development programs with national, state and local sporting organisations to provide culturally appropriate resources and services.