Ethical Partners Funds Management has committed $25,000 in funding to youth mental health organisation batyr to deliver their important school and university programs digitally to young people amid the challenges of COVID-19.
Young people are facing an increasing time of uncertainty and in many cases compounded by isolation, Ethical Partners CEO, and long-standing batyr board member, Matt Nacard said.
“In these unprecedented times, we think it is important to look at innovative solutions to help young people deal with such uncertain circumstances,” Matt said.
“We established our Giving Fund in order to invest in the health and wellbeing of young people and we can’t think of a better way to do so right now with batyr’s help.”
The funding will allow batyr to design and deliver a range of digital offerings to schools and universities to adapt to this changing environment, including:
“High school children in particular are experiencing extreme levels of stress and anxiety, particularly those who are in the midst of their HSC studies,” Ethical Partners Giving Fund director Robyn Parkin said.
“To be able to have peer-to-peer contact online via these new batyr programs will be extremely beneficial.”
In order to launch these offerings in time for Term 2, batyr is aiming to raise $200,000 by the end of April and is calling on more corporates to dig deep during this crisis.
“batyr has an amazing community that wants to invest in young Australians, and we want to thank Ethical Partners for believing in our new strategy and giving us the funding start so we can continue to reach vulnerable young people,” batyr CEO Nic Brown said.
“Physical distancing means we are not currently able to deliver our high impact programs in person but going digital means we can continue sharing powerful lived experience stories and educating young people on how to reach out for support when they need it.”
About Ethical Partners:
Ethical Partners Funds Management is an independent, boutique Australian fund manager that is fully owned by its staff. It has a dual focus on performance and investing ethically. Its investment approach directly manages risk for its clients, provides the ability to invest in line with clients' values and actively advocates for change. The Ethical Partners Tatrai Giving Fund aims to support young people in the areas of health and/or education. It is funded by the Directors and owners of Ethical Partners and its generous supporters. More information is available at: www.ethicalpartners.com.au
About batyr:
Of every 30 students in Australia, there will be 7 dealing with mental health issues. Out of those 7 students, only 2 will reach out for support, leaving 5 suffering in silence.
Stigma is a leading barrier stopping more young people reaching out for help when they need it.
batyr is a for purpose preventative mental health organisation focused on smashing the stigma of mental ill-health and increasing help seeking rates among young Australians.
We do this by educating young people on mental health and empowering them to reach out for support through engaging lived experience storytelling.
It has been proven that sharing lived experience stories is the most effective way to change negative perceptions of mental health (Research and the elimination of the stigma of mental illness, Patrick Corrigan, 2012).
batyr have a ‘herd’ of more than 700 young lived experience speakers (18-30), one of the largest groups of lived experience speakers in Australia.
batyr is not a service provider. If you or someone you know is in need of support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
batyr
Jenya Holland, Head of Brand, jenya@batyr.com.au, 0466 276 937
Andy Tsanadis, Media Engagement Coordinator andy@batyr.com.au, 0421 286 100
Ethical Partners
Matt Nacard, CEO, matt.nacard@ethicalpartners.com.au, 0499778050
Robyn Parkin, Sustainability Research and Advocacy, robyn.parkin@ethicalpartners.com.au, 0438169566