Inspiring the next generation of young Australians with Phoenix House

In Australia, more than one million children have experienced domestic and family violence. From 2017 to 2018, these high instances served as the main reason for 85,000 Australians seeking support from homelessness centres. 

It’s an issue that hits home for many people including Bronwyn Thompson, customer and commercial insights manager at Coca‑Cola Australia. Bronwyn grew up in a home of domestic violence and alcoholism and as a teenager had no support services to assist her. 

It’s the reason she nominated her local youth services charity Phoenix House for a Coca‑Cola Australia Foundation Employee Connected Grant.

What are Employee Connected Grants?

As a company, we’re passionate about our people and the communities they live in. The Coca‑Cola Australia Foundation aims to create possibilities for a brighter future for current and future generations of Australians.

Since 2017, CCAF has been inviting Coca‑Cola employees to nominate a charity they’re involved with to receive one of 25 Employee Connected Grants. The grants are designed to provide charities with financial support to continue their work.

Over the years, the CCAF has donated more than $15 million to hundreds of organisations across Australia, and in 2019 is proud to support Phoenix House as one of the 25 recipients of Employee Connected Grants.

How Employee Connected Grants give back to local communities

Having lived through the experience of domestic violence growing up, Coca‑Cola’s Bronwyn Thompson has a passion for mental health. She wants to help make a positive impact in the lives of teenagers with similar stories to her own. 

“There’s always bad stuff happening in kids’ lives, a lot of which they can’t control. Whether it’s issues at home like gambling, alcohol or violence, or even just being super stressed out, I think it’s really important there is always somewhere they feel they can get support. That was something I didn’t have,” said Bronwyn.

Phoenix House, based in Sydney’s North Shore, provides support to teenagers including counselling and education services.

When Bronwyn came across them in her neighborhood, she started donating drinks. Over time she saw how much difference a cash grant could make. 

“The Coca‑Cola Australia Foundation had been running Employee Connected Grants for a couple of years and once I became more actively involved with Phoenix House, I knew I needed to make an application for a grant,” Bronwyn said. 

Mental health a priority for Phoenix House

According to the 2018 Mission Australia Youth survey, mental health was top of the list for the 28,000 young people asked what issues they struggled with the most. 

It’s something Edmund D’Cruz, executive director at Phoenix House, says he and his team are attempting to resolve with the money from the Employee Connected Grant.

“The grant will enable us to help 40 young people deal with mental health challenges and develop emotional resilience. Anxiety and depression are things that affect kids across the board, so we’re creating a program where we can teach kids new coping mechanisms to employ in daily life,” Edmund said.

When thinking about what’s needed for further change to be made, Edmund said continued support for local charities was vital. 

“We want to create a world where people see ‘success’ as being much greater than business or work. To really make a difference we need to reinvest back into education and social programs, and we’re delighted to have formed this connected partnership between Phoenix House and Coca‑Cola Australia,” he said.

We’re incredibly proud of everyone who nominated a charity for an Employee Connected Grant. Find out more about how it all works.

Read Time

What others are reading

More to enjoy