SCA’s Embrace program provides over $110 million in support to partner charities

Southern Cross Austereo has announced that its national charity initiative SCA Embrace has provided more than $110 million to The Smith Family and Beyond Blue since 2019.

The two-year charity program, which concluded its latest partnerships in June, sees SCA provide in-kind advertising support and facilitate charity-based activities and events among local teams.

Extended by six months due to the pandemic, SCA’s partnership with Beyond Blue and The Smith Family provided a total of $111,560,040 to both charities through the means of in-kind TV and radio promotions, activations and marketing support, as well as digital, social, creative and research support.

SCA team members also participated in the creation of content for Embrace initiatives such as Triple M’s ‘No Talk Day’, as well as volunteering at charitable events like the Smith Family’s Annual Toy and Book Appeal, holding work experience programs and participating in mental health sessions.

SCA was also involved in the creation of The Smith Family’s Breaking Poverty podcast, exploring the state of child poverty in Australia and education as a means of breaking the cycle of disadvantage.

Grant Blackley, CEO of SCA, applauded the impact of both charities in Australia over the last two and a half years and celebrated the ongoing Embrace initiative.

“The advertising support we provided enabled the delivery of key messages for both organisations along with important research development for the not-for-profit sector, and pleasingly, our people truly embraced the relationships through various experiences,” Blackley said.

“Both charities have played an important role nationwide in recent times, particularly during the country’s bushfires, floods, and COVID-19, so to be able to use our media assets and expertise to deliver information and support on the importance of mental health and children’s education during this challenging period has been a privilege.”

Beyond Blue’s CEO Georgie Harman thanked SCA for the $55 million in advertising support, sharing the overall impact it had on the charity’s public awareness during the two-and-a-half-year period.

“Our research has shown a marked increase in SCA listeners’ awareness of Beyond Blue, how we can support them, and the likelihood of them using or recommending our services over the past two years,” Harman said.

“We know that this partnership has made a significant difference in the lives of people in Australia, and we can’t thank SCA enough for embracing Beyond Blue and supporting the community during this time.”

SCA will announce its 2022 charity partnerships later this year.