A major highlight of 2023 was the Parent Student Ball held at GMHBA Stadium in August. It was a fantastic event where parents, friends and students could all connect and enjoy the night.
The student association collected a number of donated goods (including a pure bred kelpie pup named “MOC”) and a charity auction was held on the night which raised more than $62,000 for TIACS – This Is a Conversation Starter. TIACS supports farmers, tradies, truckies, and blue-collar workers by offering free mental health counselling across Australia. It removes the physical and financial barriers to accessing help through a simple text and call service directly to professional counsellors.
TIACS and TradeMutt were co-founded by Dan Allen and Ed Ross (DipAgri’13) after losing a close friend to suicide and coming to the realisation that there were way too many barriers to free mental health support for the blue-collar community.
Ed Ross said he was humbled by the generosity and support from the Marcus Community.
“The generosity from the Marcus Oldham community has enabled TIACS to receive funding that will help us provide over 500 hours of free counselling for tradies, truckies, rural and blue collar workers as well as those who care about them.” he said
“Our telehealth counselling service is continuing to grow in the rural Australian community which is an incredibly encouraging sign knowing that more people are reaching out early and getting the professional support they need to get through the adversities of rural life.”
To learn more about TIACS or to access their services, please visit https://www.tiacs.org/
Please enjoy a selection of images from the evening, below. Images courtesy of https://www.fundamentalevents.com.au/
