Could a little Allen’s Red Frog help keep teenagers safe?
They absolutely can according to Red Frogs Australia, an organisation that helps thousands of teenagers stay safe at Schoolies week and university parties.
Nestlé Australia announced that it will donate 20 tonnes of Allen’s Red Frogs a year – up from 16 tonnes - to the Red Frogs crew who use them as ‘ice breakers’ at Schoolies week, university orientation events and music festivals around the country.
Red Frogs Australia is a support network for young people aged between 15 and 25 that provide a positive peer presence at these often alcohol fuelled events.
Nestlé has been supporting Red Frogs and its army of volunteers since 1997 in a program which also involves educating high school students on safe partying and empowering them to make positive life choices.
Red Frog’s founder and youth worker, Andy Gourley, stumbled across Allen’s Red Frogs almost two decades ago when he was struggling to find ways to access Schoolies Week parties on the Gold Coast to make sure kids were staying out of trouble.
“After a few nights of meeting Schoolies, I went down to the corner store and randomly chose of bag of Allen’s Red Frogs Alive to use as ice breakers when first arriving at parties,” he said.
“In our first year we handed out 80kg of them, but now the network has grown so much it will be 20 tonne this year.”
Nearly two decades later, Red Frogs Australia has an army of nearly 1500 volunteers and its network spreads to not only Schoolies week, but music festivals and Orientation weeks in every major university in Australia as well as dozens around the world.
Red Frog facts - 2014
1466 volunteers at Schoolies Week in 14 locations
67,850 students took part in Schoolies week
9,618 calls made to the Red Frog hotline
Red Frog crew supported 1077 university events and 29 music festivals
48,891 high school students educated on safe partying
For more information visit www.au.redfrogs.com