Alannah & Madeline Foundation

🤞 Will 2025 be the year of data rights for children? At the end of 2024, we saw the wheels set in motion for some big, promising changes to our Privacy Act, including the creation of a Children's Online Privacy Code. In our most recent article, policy expert Dr Jessie Mitchell gives a rundown of the changes - what's changed, what's next, what remains uncertain, and what does it all mean for children and young people? "Digital technologies have become part of children's lives, and while they bring many benefits and opportunities, they are accompanied by risks and problems. Visible concerns include bullying, distraction, scams, ‘sextortion’, pornography, disinformation and violent content. These immediate threats have led to a national push for change. "However, public debates often miss the bigger picture: how digital providers handle our personal information. "When children go online, they enter a ‘data economy,’ where many providers make their profits by collecting highly specific personal information and sharing it with other parties such as advertising companies. Historically, children and their parents have had almost no real say about what happens to their personal information online. "As the Attorney-General noted when introducing the Bill to parliament, it’s been estimated that by the time a child turns 13, around 72 million pieces of data will have already been collected about them." 💜 Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/Mk0L50UCYM3

2024 has been a year of incredible impact for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation community, and we couldn't have done it without our amazing supporters and partners! 💜 From providing Buddy Bags to children escaping violence, offering much-needed therapeutic support, to helping students stay safe and respectful online – we've made a real difference together. Want to see the impact firsthand? We’ve put together a short video to give you a glimpse of how the support of our community has helped children and young people this year. As we head into the new year, we’re filled with hope. With our caring supporters and partners by our side, we know we can keep working toward a world where every child feels safe and valued, so that their future is strong. The Foundation will be taking a brief break for the holidays to recharge for the new year. We will be closed from Friday, 20 December, and reopening on Monday, 6 January.     We look forward to reconnecting with you in 2025!  https://lnkd.in/g_eM__iM

Last Friday, the teams from the Alannah & Madeline Foundation and Dolly's Dream came together to reflect on the year and celebrate the impact we've made. The day featured an inspiring panel discussion with Emma Boag, Leader of Pedagogy & Educational Leader at Community Kinders, Betty Dafovski, General Manager of Comcare, Welfare and Corporate Social Responsibility at Wilson Security, and Meg Everett, Dolly's sister. Each of these incredible women shared their passion for creating a safer, kinder world for children and young people, and revealed what fuels them through the toughest moments. We were moved by Emma’s insights on the profound impact of our Trauma Consultancy Service in early learning centres, Betty’s dedication to supporting the Buddy Bags program through fundraising and volunteering, and Meg’s commitment to changing the culture of bullying in Australia. Everyone left the day feeling inspired, heartened, and more determined than ever to drive positive change for children and young people in 2025. A huge thank you to all our panelists for generously sharing your stories and wisdom. 

💜💛🖤 We are overjoyed to share that our partnership with the Richmond Football Club has now surpassed an awe-inspiring $2 million in fundraising and has been extended until at least 2029! Our CEO, Sarah Davies, expressed her gratitude for the club’s impact over the years. “The Richmond Football Club and its incredible Tiger Army have been champions for children’s safety over the past 12 years. Surpassing $2 million in donations for the Foundation and the work that we do is a testament to the Club’s deep commitment to making a meaningful difference. Through their support, we’ve been able to deliver critical programs and support, including providing over 36,000 Buddy Bags to children in crisis. We’re thrilled to extend this extraordinary partnership for another five years and look forward to continuing our work together to help children and young people thrive.”

This International Human Rights Day, we’d like to remind everyone that children’s rights are human rights. 🌍 Children make up nearly one-third of the world’s population, yet their rights are too often overlooked. 📜 Enshrined in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children’s rights include: ✔️ The right to equality, education, and healthcare ✔️ The right to safety and protection from harm ✔️ The right to express their opinions and beliefs These rights belong to ALL children, no matter their race, religion, birth status, language, or ability. In today’s digital world, UN General Comment 25 ensures these rights extend online, empowering children to safely explore and express themselves in digital spaces. At the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, we will continue to champion and strengthen the rights of children and young people to live free from violence and trauma wherever they live, learn and play.

💜In November, the wonderful team at Smiggle generously donated over 600 items for Buddy Bags!💜 These are just some of the items that were delivered to Buddy Bags HQ – we couldn’t fit them all in the one photo! This incredibly kind donation ensured we had enough stationery, notebooks, and sensory fidget toys to pack inside our Buddy Bags this year. We can’t thank Smiggle enough for their continued dedication and generosity to children and young people in crisis. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Learn more about Buddy Bags through our link in bio. [Image description: A man wearing a white button up shirt is smiling and leaning on stacks of notebooks, texters, and other stationary.]

Stories by Digital Children, a unique storytelling competition for children aged 5-12, is now open! An initiative of ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, this competition asks children to submit their ideas for a children's storybook on the chosen theme. This year's theme is Getting the balance right: You decide what you share. It's all about protecting your personal information and privacy online. We're proud to say that our eSmart resources are listed on the competition's website as a trusted source of information. Winners will work with children's author, Kim Maslin, to develop their idea into a published story, complete with illustrations. The winner will also receive a copy of the finished book and a soft-toy version of their main character! Submissions close on 28 February. Follow the link for more details. https://ow.ly/9ayc50Umcif

On this International Volunteer’s Day, we want to celebrate and share our gratitude for two very special and long-serving volunteers – Rosemary and Debbie. This is the last year that Rosemary and Debbie will be volunteering for our Buddy Bags program, having generously given their time and care to the Alannah & Madeline Foundation for a combined 17 years. On Tuesday, the team gave our heartfelt thanks and well wishes with a Christmas High Tea at Buddy Bags HQ! From the entire team at the Foundation, we give you our deepest thanks. 💜 And to all our other wonderful volunteers from 2024, we cannot thank you enough for helping us support children and young people who have experienced trauma to recover, heal, and thrive. We couldn’t do any of our work without your kindness, care, and love. [Image description: an image of five women sitting around a circle table with food in the middle.]

Congratulations to SEEK on being recognised as one of Australia’s top workplace giving organisations at the 2024 Workplace Giving Australia (WGA) Awards, winning Best Payroll Giving Program for Small Change. In addition, SEEK's @andrew maxey was also named Workplace Giving Champion of the Year! The Alannah & Madeline Foundation is incredibly grateful to be one of SEEK’s Small Change partners which supports our work to help children in crisis. A huge thank you to the SEEK team for your continued support and dedication to the Foundation. Your commitment to creating positive change in our community is truly inspiring. We’re proud to be part of this journey with you and are grateful for all the difference you are making. Read more about SEEK’s Small Change program here: https://lnkd.in/g2CXid8t

This November, our eSmart Engagement Manager and Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Committee member Peta Simpson attended the 2024 RAP Conference hosted by Reconciliation Australia. Here are her thoughts on the event...     I am grateful to have been able to attend the Reconciliation Australia 2024 RAP Conference. So many thoughtful sessions and keynotes and heaps of helpful discussions with other delegates, too. I’m looking forward to sharing so much with the RAP working group at Alannah & Madeline Foundation.     My key reflections are:  • Responsibility + Opportunity = Capability  • Education is a nation-building tool  • If organisations want to see change, the indicator for success must be the relationships – established, strengthened, fostered.  • The 4% of the population who are First Nations People cannot bear the load of educating the other 96% on Reconciliation  • Reconciliation is everyone’s business, now more than ever.     Learn more about our work toward Reconciliation here: https://lnkd.in/gkbJmRF9    [Alt text: A smiling woman in a black dress and white shoes stands in front of a backdrop with the words “National RAP Conference” and “Now More Than Ever” printed on it.]