CHAIR & CEO LETTER FY23

Sony Foundation is driven by a commitment to creating positive social change for young Aussies falling through the gaps.

As we reflect on the past year, we appreciate the trust you have placed in us to deliver on your donations of funds, media and time. And, in doing so – we hope that you too take pride in these achievements and are inspired by what good things can be brought about with your help; being stronger together.

We know today there are many demands on your time and resources, as you are no doubt inundated with requests for assistance, and, that it is difficult to know where or how to help. Particularly now, as great injustice and suffering occurs globally on an overwhelming scale. Thank you for your continued backing.

All of what has been achieved by Sony Foundation this year has only been possible because of the support of our partners, supporters, volunteers, and advocates; our community. A community of people who want to make a difference, not just talk about it.  A community that gives not for an agenda but because they care.  This generous community is the reason Sony Foundation can fund disability camps, build cancer centres and give our young people who have been dealt a much harder hand than each of us - a hand up.

Through harnessing the spirit of collaboration and our community’s collective generosity, we have been able to change the lives of young people at the most profound level over the last year:

• Milestone of 20,000+ nights of emergency accommodation provided to 350+ regional and rural youth cancer patients, and their families, around Australia, through our You Can Stay program, since launching in July 2020.
  
  
• Sony Foundation announced that You Can Stay will increase the eligibility age from 15-25 years up to 29 years. This will see the number of regional and rural patients supported by the program doubled, supporting improved access to equitable health care.
  
  
• 465 children with disability experienced the holiday of a lifetime at a Children’s Holiday Camp. The Children’s Holiday Camps enabled the children’s parents/carers to access over $2 million in free overnight respite care at no cost, with primary care provided to the children with disability by 825 high school and university students across Australia.
  
  
• Sony Foundation and Musicians Making a Difference (MMAD) celebrated 10 years of transforming young lives through music together. The ‘Catch a Falling STAR (Special, Traumatised & At-Risk)’ program funded by Sony Foundation, has evolved this year to deliver both in-person and online mentoring and crisis intervention. The proof is in the outcomes with recent graduates from the STAR program increasing the group’s overall well-being score from 44/100 to 75/100.
  
  
• 200+ young people who’ve been traumatised by broken homes and cycles of abuse– have been saved by our youth mentoring programs in partnership with Youth Off The Streets (YOTS) and MMAD.
  
  

• 950+ young people affected by the Black Summer bushfires embraced the spirit of resilience and community, engaging in Sony Foundation-funded youth sanctuaries in Tenterfield and Macksville and the ‘MMAD Regeneration Tour’.

Beyond these numbers, the real impact lies in the stories of those touched by the Foundation. We express gratitude to the advocates who bravely shared their experiences, creating change and promoting equitable health and well-being outcomes for the next generation.

Thank you to Sony Foundation’s Board of Directors, a team of genuinely committed people who generously give of their time to steer this Foundation with great wisdom and talent.  And, to the hardworking Foundation team: Emma, Tom, Karen, Grace and Kelly who each brilliantly deliver in their roles.

As we look to the future, we have ambitious plans. In the year ahead we want to:

• Establish our sixth You Can Centre in Adelaide;
  
  
• Expand our You Can Stay apartments to help more of our chronically ill young people;
  
  
• Expand our Children’s Holiday Camp program to more schools, particularly those in rural and remote regions;
  
  
• Increase our support to our youth-at-risk programs to catch more of our falling STARs through our partnerships with MMAD and YOTS.

We invite you, our valued community, to continue standing with us. By being stronger together, we can make a real difference in the lives of young Australians.

Thank you for being part of this important work.

YOURS SINCERELY