Our Work
The Sebastian Foundation takes a proactive approach to youth mental health, funding work that give Australian youth the mental armour they need to move positively through adolescence and grow to be their best.
Our primary focus is supporting schools to implement Open Parachute, a unique in-school curriculum-based program tailored from Kindergarten through to Year 12.
Developed by Clinical Psychologist Dr Hayley Watson, this is the only nationally available mental health program that is built around peer to peer learning. Students learn from real stories of kids their own age dealing with issues such as social media, body image, depression, anxiety, grief, addiction and more. Unsurprisingly, research shows that kids listen to what they learn from their peers! Teacher feedback speaks for itself:
Open Parachute
The program is valued at $30 per student per year and The Sebastian Foundation wants as many schools as possible to access this critical learning by removing any financial barriers.
As Guy says, "Mental health skills should not be for the privileged few who can access a psychologist, they should be taught to EVERY child, in EVERY classroom.”
Open Parachute recently committed to matching our contribution by subsidising the program by 50% for schools that The Sebastian Foundation supports.
So, we can now support schools at just $15 per student, meaning your donations will now have even more impact by reaching twice as many students!
Thank you Open Parachute for sharing our commitment to building confidence and resilience in as many Aussie students as possible.
You can find more info on this incredible program at openparachute.com.au
Book an appointment for your school with Dr Hayley directly here.
Other projects
The Sebastian Foundation worked in partnership with the NSW Police Force & PCYC NSW to create the Upbeat Project at Blacktown PCYC! Launched in August 2023, the bespoke revitalised music studios give aspiring talents a chance to develop their passion.
The Upbeat Project is a safe and secure environment for local youth to express themselves musically and become the best version of themselves while learning simple ways to record and release music.
Guy said “The Open Parachute program is our main focus to reach kids in the school environment. This local community initiative is an extension of that, and a natural one given that music is my heartland! The Blacktown & Greater Western Sydney communities have an incredibly talented aspiring youth – some fantastic artists have performed on The Voice and I have loved including the Blacktown choir in some performances. This is more than just a studio. We want to give budding talent the tools and confidence to record and develop their own music – to realise their potential and give their ambitions the absolute best shot.”
The studio has now been incorporated into the music curriculum for some local Blacktown schools and is used weekly by youth groups.
Huge thanks go to First Grade Trades who undertook the renovations and Metalflex Gregory Hills for the air conditioning units, and of course Guy himself for personally installing the latest studio software and samples to enable the kids to produce music that is world class and release ready.