The Media Federation of Australia’s (MFA) NGEN community took to the courts in a series of competitive NGEN Charity Cup Dodgeball matches against colleagues and rivals – and raised a record-breaking $38,328 for UnLtd charity partner, The Pinnacle Foundation.
The amount raised exceeded NGEN’s goal of raising $20,000, with competing teams selling raffle tickets for prizes generously donated by industry supporters, including tickets to Harry Styles by Nova and Guns N’ Roses by SCA, $1,000 in Flight Centre vouchers by Linkedin, $250 Café Sydney vouchers by JCDecaux, front row AFL tickets by Nine, and many more.
Three energetic dodgeball tournaments were held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as part of the annual NGEN Charity Cup, with more than 400 of the community participating in the event, now in its eighth year.
The aim of the MFA NGEN Charity Cup is to raise much-needed funds for youth charities as well as provide an opportunity for members of NGEN – a community for those with less than five years’ experience in the media industry – to come together for a round of team work and networking with their peers.
This year’s Cup was sponsored by CHEP Network (Silver) in Melbourne; SBS (Gold) and CHEP Network (Silver) in Sydney; and Val Morgan Outdoor (Gold) in Brisbane.
Teams from both media agencies and media owners battled it out for the top spot in three categories – Dodgeball Champs, Best Dressed, and Most Money Raised.
| Melbourne Total raised: $10,802
Dodgeball Champs: Matterkind
Best Dressed: PMG Panthers
Most Money Raised: oOh! Media ($1,543) | Brisbane Total raised: $5,559
Dodgeball Champs: VMO and the Universal Reprise
Best Dressed: Wavemaker
Most Money Raised: Essence ($1,000) | Sydney Total raised: $21,967
Dodgeball Champs: OMD
Best Dressed: Val Morgan
Most Money Raised: OMD ($3,606) |
The Pinnacle Foundation is a national charity that provides educational scholarships, mentoring and opportunities for young LGBTIQ+ Australians. NGEN will be using the funds raised to back a scholarship in the memory of Sam Smith, a popular digital ad sales pioneer who passed away in 2020. The Sam Smith Scholarship will be awarded to young LGBTIQ+ Australians in the fields of marketing, advertising, technology or communication.
Tim Lai, marketing manager at The Pinnacle Foundation, said the organisation was humbled to be the charity of choice for the 2022 NGEN Charity Cup.
Lai added: “Every dollar contributes to our cause in working to provide scholarships to LGBTIQ+ young Australians. Thank you for fundraising for The Pinnacle Foundation, we know that the funds will be incredibly helpful in achieving our goals in helping LGBTIQ+ youth in reclaiming their path and evolving into a more diverse and inclusive society.”
Saarika Shah, head of Industry Partnerships at UnLtd, added: “We deeply value our ongoing partnership with the MFA’s NGEN community, and their passion and commitment to drive positive social impact among young Australians. This year’s fundraising effort has been outstanding!
“It means the Pinnacle Foundations can help more young LGBTIQ+ Australians realise their full potential and overcome challenges arising from their identity through scholarships and mentoring. Funds raised will go towards the industry-backed Sam Smith Scholarship, created in memory of digital ad sales pioneer Sam Smith.”
Melanie Aslanidis, head of NGEN, MFA, said: “It’s always wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm NGENers bring to helping raise funds and awareness for important social causes, and make a difference.
“While getting together and dodging balls is a lot of fun, what we’re most proud of is that the NGEN Charity Cup is a meaningful project that makes a real impact on the work of our chosen charities – demonstrating that NGENers are true Changers. Well done to all the NGENer dodgeball players and their supporters for making this a record-breaking effort!”