News Corp Australia’s print and digital mastheads The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and The Courier-Mail and kidsnews.com.au have united in launching an intense Adopt a Farmer – a campaign to boost awareness and provide financial relief for farming communities battling crippling drought in NSW and VIC, and both drought and floods in QLD.
The front pages and editorial coverage featuring in The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail and on kidsnews.com.au will highlight the dire conditions experienced by farming regions in each state, and will focus on inspiring readers to take action inspired by stories of efforts undertaken by school children around the country.
AGL, NAB, IGA and Qantas have all joined forces with News Corp to show support for farming communities and help educate and engage Australians, particularly school children in capital cities, about the issues being faced as a result of the drought.
Ben English, editor of The Daily Telegraph said: “Deputy editor Gemma Jones and I knew we needed to take action to help give our farming communities – who feel no-one is listening – a stronger voice.
“We are listening and we are taking action. Adopt a Farmer is calling on schools to hold a gold coin mufti day on Wednesday May 8 to support 8,000 farmers registered with Rural Aid who are doing it tough. Sponsors AGL and NAB have already kicked in $200,000 to get the ball rolling, to inject some money back into local economies and to give farmers a small reprieve from the financial pressures they face.
“By schools taking the initiative to adopt a farmer, the stories become very real. We want students to write to the farmers they are adopting, tell them what they’re doing to show support, and then we want to give children an opportunity to visit a rural community and meet the farmers they are supporting.”
Qantas will fly five students and their teacher to a drought affected community to meet the farmers. They just need to write in to [email protected] why their school should be selected. And IGA is giving away $1,000 gift cards to 20 students in rural communities who write in and share their stories about how the drought is affecting them.
Registered charity, Rural Aid will collect the funds, by providing $100 Visa gift cards to farmers in need. The hope is that these gift cards can be spent within the local economies, helping sustain small businesses also facing the full brunt of the effects of the drought.
News Corp is also encouraging readers to get involved in their workplace on May 8 by hosting a mufti day and donating via www.adoptafarmer.com.au