Bravehearts
Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:43): Today is Bravehearts Day, so I want to recognise the amazing work that has been done by Bravehearts since 1997 in order to seek to prevent the sexual abuse of children. Bravehearts is particularly known for its program Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Program. I wanted to see Ditto, who is a bear, myself and to experience the program, so I went to an event hosted by the Friends of Bravehearts in Geelong on the weekend. This event was strongly supported by Mrs McArthur as well. It was great to mix with the Friends of Bravehearts. It was great to see Ditto, do a bit of dancing with Ditto and hear from Ditto the bear about his three rules for children: that we all have the right to feel safe with people, that it is okay to say no if you feel unsafe or unsure and that nothing is so yucky that you cannot tell someone about it.
Many members are aware that this program, which has been running for some time, has yielded fantastic results. I want to thank Ross and all the other amazing volunteers in the Friends of Bravehearts who support the program. Any member, anybody listening, who wants to support Bravehearts as well – because they do not get a huge amount of government support, they largely rely on donations – can visit the Bravehearts website and make a donation to allow this fabulous organisation to keep doing great work to keep children safe.