We're on a simple mission: to help boys grow into Top Blokes.
Have you ever noticed that the majority of headlines in the news involves young men making poor choices? Yet, as a country, do we really give young men the space, tools and support to know how to make sound and safe decisions?
We believe that all young men can be top blokes if they are shown how.
How do we know? We've been building boys into Top Blokes for years, but we need your help to ensure no boy misses out.
What is the Top Blokes Foundation?
We are a charity that is extremely passionate (honestly, not even kidding) about helping boys grow into good young men. We believe that when boys are equipped with the right language, skills and support, their mental health and overall well-being will improve. We believe by doing this, we also improve the lives of the women that surround them.
We're not just saying that, this is what our boys have shared:
"You could talk about stuff guys normally wouldn't talk about." - 2016 participant
"The biggest thing I learnt was how to control my anger." - 2015 participant
But why young men?
You might be surprised to know that in actual fact, there aren't that many long term mentoring programs specifically for boys and young men.
Yet, national social research data reveals the following about boys:
1. Suicide accounts for 24% of deaths of young Australian males. Young men are five times more likely to commit suicide than young women.
2. Young men are 3.5 times more likely to die from a preventable accident than young women.
3. Nearly 90% of young people in juvenile justice are male.
4. The fastest growing consumers of pornography are boys aged 12-15 years. The average age of first viewing is 11 years old.
5. 46% of young Australian males have been in physical fights.
6. 99% of 'King Hit' attacks are by males, with 49% of those males aged between 18 and 23 years.
7. One in four teenagers have experienced an unwanted sexual encounter, with 61% of teenagers reporting they have felt pressured to send a 'sext'.
So how do change these statistics?
To give young men and boys access to positive male role models over a 6 month program that covers the hard topics - things like drugs and alcohol, mental health and suicide, anger management, healthy relationships, cyber bullying and sexting, the realities of pornography, peer pressure and risk taking and racism to name a few. And to deliver these programs in innovative ways so they "really get it!".
But we can't keep up!
Each year we work with around 1500 young males, yet we have a growing list of schools and organisations who are desperate to get the support they need for their boys.
We need your help to get 100 boys sponsored through our successful program.
Our long term, weekly mentoring program is designed to help boys increase their skills and knowledge while improving their attitudes and behaviours.
Our most recent evaluations has shown (framework developed in conjunction with Ernst and Young):
1. Over the course of our programs, young men's mental health improved by 21%
2. 92% of young men have learnt something new about looking after their own mental health
3. 84% of young men have significantly changed their opinions about alcohol and drugs
4. 85% of young men stated that their self-esteem and confidence increased as a result of our programs
5. 74% of young men stated that they learnt new techniques for conflict resolution and anger management
6. Over the course of our programs, there was a 46% decrease in young men judging others based on their gender or sexual identity
If it's one thing we know for sure, there is hope for boys to be top blokes when given the chance. Another thing we know is that as we don't get government funding, the only way we can do this is with your help.
"I learnt to communicate better with people" - 2016 participant
"Without the Top Blokes Foundation I would have never had the courage to make the right decisions in life" 2015 participant
It costs as little as $100 to sponsor one young man in our program for one month. So you can literally change a life for the same cost as a night out with friends.
So please help us to ignite our future Top Blokes by contributing to our crowdfunding campaign today.
FAQ’s
Is my donation tax deductible?
Yes, donations over $2 are tax deductible.
I want to become a Top Blokes Champion. What conditions apply for me to spend a day participating in the Junior Top Blokes Mentoring Program?
Thank you for your support. To spend the day shadowing our awesome youth workers, you will need to hold a current NSW Working with Children Check.
When and where will the VIP night be held?
Our VIP night will be held in June, We will advise the venue later but it will either be in Sydney or Wollongong.
Who holds the workshops for these young men? Are they qualified?
Our weekly workshops are held by our youth workers who hold tertiary qualifications in Youth Work, Social Welfare and /or Psychology and have experience in facilitating mentoring programs for young people. Each carry current Working with Children and National Police Checks. All youth workers are mandatory reporters and will work alongside school and community organisations in the event that a mandatory report is required.
I want to volunteer to be a mentor for the Junior Top Blokes Program. How do I go about that?
Whilst we appreciate your generosity, we don’t accept volunteer mentors. We are focused on the best outcome for our young men and so having consistent, trained, qualified, young Youth Workers is an important part of achieving a positive mentoring relationship.
How can I keep updated with the good work Top Blokes is doing?
Good question! You can follow us on social media through the following channels:
