Huawei Australia is delighted to announce the official launch of its 2020 National Rugby League season 2.0 charity campaign with Sydney-based mental health researcher the Black Dog Institute in partnership with 2019 Grand Finalists the Canberra Raiders.
Founded in 2002 the Black Dog Institute aims to create a mentally healthier world for everyone through research, educational programs and digital tools and apps.
It is the only medical research institute in Australia to investigate mental health for people at any stage of their life.
Huawei Australia will work with the Black Dog Institute throughout the NRL season along with the Canberra Raiders to help drive awareness around mental health issues via an engagement program with Raiders fans at every home NRL match.
The social and economic impacts of not only the catastrophic bushfire season but now the Coronavirus lockdown will have caused mental health issues for many Australians around the country and we hope this campaign will encourage them to reach out to organisations like BDI for assistance.
The Black Dog Institute will also be our partner for the NRL Charity Round on August 15th when the Raiders host the Brisbane Broncos with Huawei Australia and the Raiders launching a special BDI sponsored jersey for the match, with the special jersey set to be launched on August 3rd.
The Raiders players’ jerseys from the Charity Round game will be auctioned off post-match to raise funds for the BDI and to help further their mental health research and programs with a range of other charitable initiatives planned.
Lisa Connors, Manager Corporate Relations and Programs of Huawei Australia, said:
“The impact of the bushfires and now Coronavirus on the mental health of many Australians mean that our campaign with the Black Dog Institute as our NRL charity partner for 2020 becomes even more important.
“We now have the opportunity to highlight and provide assistance to an issue that is going to be a significant problem in Australia as the country starts to rebuild after the fires and recovers from the impact of the virus .
“We are greatly looking forward to the contribution that we can make over the rest of this season along with the Black Dog Institute and the Canberra Raiders.”
Karen Elliff, the Black Dog Institute’s Director of Fundraising and Development, said:
“We’re really excited to be partnering with Huawei Australia and the Canberra Raiders to expand awareness around the importance of mental health and to raise vital funds.
“We hope that through this engagement program, we’ll be helping to start conversations in the community about mental health and encourage help-seeking for those who might need it.
“Funds raised through this partnership will go towards the continuation of our research and the delivery of evidence-based programs throughout the community.”
Don Furner, CEO of the Canberra Raiders, said:
“The Raiders and Huawei have a proud history of working together to help raise money and awareness for a number of very worthwhile causes and we’re looking forward to adding the Black Dog Institute to this.
“Our club and players are all about putting back into the community and this gives us the opportunity to give some wonderful exposure for the Black Dog Institute who have been working with our major sponsor Huawei.”
