Variety – the Children’s Charity has teamed up with the Adelaide Crows Foundation to enable more South Australian students to benefit from the Open Parachute program, focused on improving child and youth mental health.

The partnership means an additional 2000 disadvantaged South Australian students will be able to take part in the leading wellbeing program this year.

Earlier this month, the Crows' charity arm announced a partnership with The Sebastian Foundation - the charity of musician Guy Sebastian and his wife Jules - to subsidise Open Parachute in 32 schools.

Variety – the Children’s Charity supports kids and families who are facing challenges through sickness, disadvantage or living with disability. Since 2018, Variety and the Adelaide Crows have had a community partnership centred around the bi-annual Showdown matches, with naming rights to the ‘Variety Showdown Shield'.

Across this time, Variety has worked closely with the Adelaide Crows Foundation on a range of programs and initiatives which positively impact the lives of young people throughout SA, including the Crows’ Inclusive Academy and now Open Parachute. Both charities have a shared ambition to bring about positive change for kids in need.

“Variety has been proud partners of the Crows Foundation over the past six years as this has expanded our reach and impact for kids in need across SA,” said Variety Chief Executive Officer Mark McGill.

“I know all those who support Variety will be thrilled that an additional 2000 children will now benefit from their learnings within the Open Parachute program as they will be better equipped to tackle the unique pressures of childhood today.”

Founded by clinical psychologist Dr Hayley Watson, Open Parachute takes a preventative approach to mental health and uses peer-to-peer methods to help educate children and youth about coping mechanisms pertinent to the challenges of growing up, such as bullying, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and social media, among others.

It provides curriculum-aligned student lessons based on documentary videos that showcase Australian youth sharing their own experiences of overcoming struggles.

Crows players will attend classrooms to share their own personal experiences with overcoming challenges and building resilience.

Read more about the Open Parachute Program here.

Learn more about the work of Variety - the Children's Charity here.