As the end of the financial year looms, so too does the halfway mark of my commitment to match every cent spent on alcohol this year with donations to charity.

I stumbled upon an article on my Twitter feed about a lady who saved $4,000 by doing a whole dry year. To be honest it seemed a bit of a populist item, something you’d expect to see on Buzzfeed rather than the Sydney Morning Herald.

In any case, I’m not doing Dry 2017 (or Dry July, for that matter!) but at my current rate I will probably get to about $2,000 by the end of December. Not an insubstantial amount.

Anyway, I thought I’d take this opportunity to promo the organisations who will be benefiting from my drinking habits. Because my own work and interests have tended to be international, I decided my support would go to Australian organisations serving the country or the local community.

Here’s who, what and how much for January through to June.

January: Youth Off The Streets – $193.90

yots-logo

This community organisation works with vulnerable young people, providing services such as high school education, crisis accommodation, counselling, as well as alcohol and drug rehabilitation.

February: Mission Australia – $145.60

mission-australia-logoThese guys have been around for over 155 years, seeking to empower vulnerable Australians. While I’m not a fan of their sob story/guilt trip marketing material, they still do important work for those battling homelessness, addiction, mental illness, disabilities and family violence amongst other things.

March: Common Grace – $172.30

commongrace-circle-logoCommon Grace is, in its own words, “a diverse movement of 33,000 Australian Christians who are passionate about Jesus and inspired by the gospel to boldly pursue justice.”

It’s a compassionate Christian voice for a more compassionate Australia. Campaigns focus on four areas where we need to seek justice: asylum seekers, Indigenous Australians, domestic and family violence, and climate change.

April: Lifeline – $185.50

logo2-wfueoruvvsmg.jpgLifeline has been around a long time – since 1963. Its 24-hour crisis line 13 11 14 takes phone calls from individuals around the country who are experiencing personal crisis. Many of them are at high risk of suicide.

May: The Freedom Hub – $127.70

logo_mainThis Sydney-based organisation serves survivors of trafficking in Australia. It runs a “survivor school” that equips individuals with skills for reintegration into the workforce. It also operates a cafe business, the profits of which fund the survivor school. In other words, the business covers things like admin costs.

June: Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) – $28.50

facebook-cover-photo-tax-appeal-17RACS provides legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees, helping individuals and families present their claims to government decision-makers. Their services include casework, telephone advice, clinics, outreaches and advocacy.

It had its government funding cut a couple of years back, so as an organisation it now relies solely on donations.

The amount is so small compared to the other months that I’m going to roll this into July.

In case you were wondering, I don’t think my alcohol consumption has been reduced this month – I just haven’t paid for much of what I’ve drunk 😛


Oh hey. If you did want to donate to the organisation that I work for …

Your support can help International Justice Mission Australia fight cybersex trafficking from here in Australia to Cebu in the Philippines.

Through our collaborative casework model we’re able to strengthen justice systems in the developing world. It works – we’ve seen it happen with huges drops in the prevalence of commercial sex exploitation of minors in both the Philippines and Cambodia.

And I can testify to the fact that my colleagues around the world are professional and dedicated.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FInternationalJusticeMissionAU%2Fvideos%2F1380600475368413%2F&show_text=1&width=560

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