More than 400 members of the MFA NGEN community have taken to the dodgeball courts across Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne for the 10th annual NGEN charity cup dodgeball tournament, raising $37,428 for UnLtd charity partner Bravehearts.
Fundraising efforts involved competing teams of NGENers selling raffle tickets for prizes generously donated by industry supporters, including a 15,000ft tandem skydive donated by Skydive Australia, MCG Medallion in-season tickets from NOVA Entertainment, a 12-month Paramount+ subscription, tickets to Australia vs West Indies at the Gabba by the Seven Network, and many more.
The NGEN charity cup aims to raise much-needed funds for youth charities and provide an opportunity for members of NGEN—a community for those with less than five years’ experience in the media industry—to come together and live up to the industry’s ‘We Are The Changers’ purpose.
“Bravehearts are incredibly grateful for the $37,453 raised at the NGEN dodgeball charity cup. This generous contribution will significantly support our efforts to educate, empower and protect Australian children from sexual abuse. With these funds, we can provide 250 counselling sessions, or educate over 3,000 children about personal safety, or assist callers who need information and support when navigating child sexual abuse in their family for 37 weeks! Thank you to the MFA and NGEN, everyone who fundraised, participated and donated; your support makes a real difference,” said Kylie Hewitt, Bravehearts national partnerships manager.
“Once again, NGENers brought enormous enthusiasm and commitment to the task of fundraising for the NGEN charity cup, organising raffles, cake sales and office pyjama days, all before even stepping onto the dodgeball courts and putting their bodies on the line. Being able to have a meaningful impact on our chosen charity is incredibly rewarding for NGENers and the NGEN team, and I’m so proud to be supporting Bravehearts to help continue their vital work. A heartfelt thank you to everyone for their amazing efforts,” said Melanie Aslanidis, MFA’s head of NGEN.
MFA member agencies contributed financially towards the events in the absence of sponsors. These were Atomic 212, Bohemia, dentsu, EssenceMediacom, Foundations, GroupM, Havas Media, Initiative, iProspect, Match & Wood, OMD, PHD, Slingshot, Mindshare, Spark Foundry, This is Flow and Wavemaker.