White Balloon Day 2013

White Balloon Day 2013

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Posted 2013-08-10 by Douglas Sutherland-Brucefollow

Fri 06 Sep 2013

Research shows that 1 in 5 Australian children will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday.

Shocked by that statistic Hetty Johnson founded a non-profit organisation, Bravehearts , in 1997. She now serves as Executive Director.



Bravehearts' key purpose is to educate, empower and protect Australian kids from sexual assault. Their vision is to make Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child by 2020.

To achieve this we depend on business, government and community support. One of the ways in which Bravehearts raises social awareness and funds is to celebrate White Balloon Day , which this year falls on September the 6th, 2013.

The Australia-wide event is a key fixture during National Child Protection Week. With funds raised going toward education, prevention and counselling programs.



Hetty Johnston said "White Balloon Day is a symbol of hope for survivors of this devastating crime. White Balloon Day is about encouraging kids to come forward and break the silence, while we raise the necessary funds to ensure vital support networks and programs can continue."

She went on to say: "Silence, secrecy and shame are the sex offender's best friends and the child's worst enemies. Unless victims come forward, many other children remain targets for sex offenders.
"The truth is that it is only the victims who know who the offenders are. Sex offenders never offend only against one child, or just once. We are relying on victims to tell us who the offenders are so we can protect today's children from the same fate," said Ms Johnston.
"We are winning the battle one child at a time, but there's still a long way to go.
"Supporting White Balloon Day can be as simple as tying a white balloon to your letterbox or as grand as hosting a fundraising function."



#western_australia
#fundraisers
#community_events
#charity
#september
!date 06/09/2013 -- 06/09/2013
%wnperth
156896 - 2023-06-14 13:05:40

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