Charities win $2m airtime from SBS

SBS has announced the recipients of its charity scheme, the SBS Foundation.

The initiative will provide airtime this year for 23 national and regional charities worth $2 million.

“SBS has been overwhelmed with interest in the SBS Foundation since we put the call out to the charitable sector in January,” Managing Director Shaun Brown said.

“The SBS Foundation Committee received more than 500 applications for support and it was a difficult task choosing the final list of charities.”

Seventeen charities with proposals for national campaigns have been chosen and the additional six charities will receive targeted support in state campaigns.

The causes include cancer, mental illness, Indigenous communities, refugees as well as representation from the arts  and environmental sector.

Elaine Henry, CEO of The Smith Family, said: “This will be a huge boost to our work, helping all of us to raise awareness and garner support in these difficult times. We are truly grateful to The SBS Foundation for this opportunity.”

The charities that will be supported by the SBS Foundation in 2009 are:

The Smith Family
Reconciliation Australia
The Inspire Foundation
The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience
Redkite
Sane Australia
Lions Australia
The Children’s Book Council of Australia
Big Hart
The Australian Theatre for Young People
One laptop per child
Information and Cultural Exchange
Greening Australia
Reef Check Australia
The Song Room
The Macular Degeneration Foundation
Lifeline

SBS has also chosen some regional partners to support throughout the year:
Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre
The Epilepsy Association of Western Australia
The MJD Foundation
Trees for Life in South Australia
RACQ Rescue Helicopter in Central Queensland
The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation in New South Wales.