The Sebastian Foundation, in partnership with Sony Foundation and Channel 7 Telethon Trust (Telethon), is proud to bring life-changing mental health education to 10,000 young people across Western Australia through the Open Parachute program in 2025.
This powerful partnership enables us to continue to fund the 11 WA schools who have already gained momentum with Open Parachute, while extending this critical learning to an additional 5,200 students, particularly in regional and remote communities.
Open Parachute is delivered online, in the classroom, meaning we can reach schools in remote locations where it is just not feasible to send a facilitator.
A teacher in a remote community school in the Pilbara region told us "Our students experience repeated domestic violence, witnessing violence on a frequent basis, split families, incarceration of family members, incarceration of juveniles, grief from constant funerals within this and surrounding communities, and alcohol abuse within parents/caregivers and students. Open Parachute is an excellent program. These students need support to develop excellent choices in life. They need access to as much support as possible. We are a fully indigenous school. The only way we can access these programs is through funding support – thank you Sony Foundation, Sebastian Foundation and Telethon."
Sony Foundation and the Sebastian Foundation are grateful to have Telethon’s generous support to ensure mental health education is accessible to WA’s most vulnerable youth. Together, this collaboration is helping young people build the skills they need to thrive through adolescence and equip them for life’s ongoing challenges.