Award winning campaign
| Home Stretch #makeit21 campaign wins ‘Positive Change’ category at the 2021 Australian Effie Awards We are thrilled to announce that the Home Stretch #makeit21 campaign, in partnership with leading behaviour change communications agency The Shannon Company, has been crowned joint winner of the Advertising Council of Australia’s 2021 Effie Awards ‘Positive Change’ category. The national advertising, social media, public relations and government advocacy change campaign aimed to improve the lives of vulnerable young Australians in foster care. The Shannon Company also produced three impactful short films highlighting that every year, almost 3000 Australian young people are exiting state care at the age of 18 with disturbing life outcomes.  Watch the award-winning Home Stretch video submission Research both nationally and internationally shows that a high proportion of care leavers become homeless, enter the criminal justice system, become unemployed or become a parent themselves – within the first year of leaving care. Moreover, international research shows that education participation doubles and homelessness rates are halved when care is extended to 21. In Australia, the evidence is clear that many young people are still struggling to cope independently at 18 years after a life in state care. Over the past five years, the Home Stretch campaign has worked tirelessly with state and territory jurisdictions to create legislative change and increase the age of young people leaving care to 21 years. Today, six-out-of-eight states and territories are supporting care leavers up until the turn 21, with over 1000 young people already benefiting from the reform. Paul McDonald, Chair of the Home Stretch coalition of more than 200 child welfare and community organisations, said that he was thrilled The Shannon Company was able to create such impactful content for #makeit21, and that the Company was being recognised for its excellent work. “The Effie Awards are like the Walkleys, or the Brownlow, for advertisers and creatives – they are for recognising the very best Australian advertising. We’re absolutely chuffed with the excellent campaign that The Shannon Company have created for us,” Mr McDonald said. “The Home Stretch has been an amazing team effort and the good fight continues. We’re concentrating on getting the NSW and Queensland governments to commit to extend care to 21 in their states – and we won’t stop until every young people in care throughout Australia is supported.” Media contact : Jodie Harrison 0425 754 370 jodie@theshannoncompany.com.au  What did you do on your 18th birthday? |
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