Executive Zaydan Posted October 5, 2020 Executive Share Posted October 5, 2020 G'day Gamers! Today we are excited to announce a new initiative that we hope many of our OzzyGaming community members can get involved with to help make a big difference in our world. This will be the first of a hopefully annual initiative run by the community to raise money for an important and relevant charity of the communities choice. Many small contributions together can make a big difference to peoples lives and we want to use our reach and large user-base here at OzzyGaming to help achieve this. To encourage donations and to reward our member's generosity, we will provide players with in-game rewards which this time around will be an exclusive FiveM vehicle! (more info below) First of all, I would like to hit you all with some very real statistics. Spoiler Reference: Australian institute of Health and Welfare - Approximately half (45%) of all adults aged 16-85 in Australia will experience a mental disorder in their lifetime. - About 20% of adults have experienced a mental disorder in the past year. - The most common mental disorder in Australia is Anxiety (such as social phobia) effecting 1 in 7 people in Australia, followed by depression effecting over 6% of the population. - About 14% of children and adolescents (aged 4-17) have experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months, that is about 600,000 kids in Australia alone. (2017) With the most common mental disorders amongst kids being ADHD, Anxiety and depression. Now for some not so nice statistics: Spoiler Reference: Health Direct - Australian Goverment - 1 young life is lost every day in Australia due to suicide. (Aged 15-24) - For every youth suicide there are approximately 100-200 more suicide attempts. - Suicide is the leading cause of death among young Australians, that's more than die on the roads and other accidents. - People of every age, race, gender, financial status or family background commit suicide, it affects everyone. - The main risk factors associated with suicide are: Previous suicide attempts, family or relationship issues, bullying, access to harmful medications or weapons, having an illness or disability, your sexuality or sexual identity and being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. We are all gamers here and we come from a host of different backgrounds both in our personal lives and the lives questionably projected through our FiveM roleplay personas. A lot of kids, teenagers and young adults these days struggle with social interaction which can be accompanied by mental disorders such as anxiety. People with anxiety can often feel like its only happening to them and they are the odd ones out when that couldn't be further from the truth! Many people experience mental disorders at some point in their lives and it is not embarrassing or anything to be ashamed of, in fact you should talk about it. We are all lucky to be part of such a large, friendly community where we can come together with common interests and meet new like-minded young people every day. For me personally, I have met some of my closest friends through my years being part of OzzyGaming and I am thankful for the times I have had. I've heard of so many people who usually struggle to make friends, find people during RP and begin getting to know each other, it's fantastic. Whether you play under an alias or use your real name (like me!), places like this allow you to make friends and interact with others. Talking is important, especially when you're sitting on issues inside your own mind. There are many people you can talk to in life, You parents, siblings, friends, teachers, doctors, and helplines just to name a few; if some of those are not possible for you there are always other avenues out there. There are many phone services out there that you've probably heard before, but they really are super helpful things. Lifeline, BeyondBlue and Kids Help Line are some available just to name a few. People may not know it, but we have had a few deaths over the past years within the OzzyGaming community. One was a well-known clown in the community who was known for his 'inappropriate' sense of humour but most of all his patience, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident one night. An innocent life, taken in a moment. We were notified of his passing a few weeks later after his brother logged onto his computer and discovered this whole other life he was living through gaming. His brother sent us a warm message thanking everyone for being his friend and giving his brother a happy life. It was a sad, yet humbling moment. Sadly we have also had at least one person take their own life within the community a few years back. He was known for being an excellent shot and liked to annoy the police. He hadn't played the server in a few months and one of his personal friends spread the word back to the community about his passing. It puts things into perspective to think someone you know was going through things and made that final decision. I'll end the anecdotes on a high note. We once had a member of staff who confided in a few other staff members around things he was struggling with in his personal life. He'd been visiting a counsellor while suffering from depression. One day he left a scary message in the staff chat, essentially in hindsight a suicide note. Many of us grew concerned and within hours we had many members of the staff team trying to get in touch with him and his family and we eventually got in contact with someone close to him. He turned out to be planning to take his own life, but people had gotten to him in time and managed to talk him out of it. It was so comforting to see so many people rally together at that moment to try and make sure he was okay and thankfully it was a happy ending. Enough with all the reading (for those who did anyway). The 10th of October is World Mental Health Day each year, which is the day we will be running this fundraiser. Being about a week out, it is time for the community to decide which charity you would like to pool our efforts towards this year. The management team have selected the following three charities which are all very relevant and important to people our age and will likely resonate with a few of you. If there is another charity that you hold close to your heart, please reach out and we will see if we can include it, or possibly use it for our next fundraiser. I've given each of the charities a brief speel below but I encourage you to visit their websites and see what they're all about. Option 1 - Headspace - https://headspace.org.au/ Option 2 - Canteen- https://www.canteen.org.au/ Option 3 - Kids Help Line- https://kidshelpline.com.au/ Please cast your vote in the poll above as to which charity you would like to throw the communities weight behind this year. The charity with the most support prior to the 10th of October will be used for the fundraiser. A Few Details The reward for donations this year will be a brand new, exclusive FiveM vehicle, the Mercedes E63 (Brabus Tuning) pictured below. The donations will be made similarly to normal purchases through our webstore. This will allow the rewards to be instantly available to players in-game after donating to the fundraiser. The vehicle donations will be set at $15 and will be limited to 1 per person. For additional donations, we will be also opening a "Just Donate" option where you can select how much you would like to additionally donate to the fundraiser. All members who contribute will also be able to receive a new badge on the forums and in TeamSpeak. 100% of all money donated from the fundraiser will be redirected as a donation to the charity following the fundraiser. The fundraiser will be live and run for the entire day on the 10th of October. All donations in Australia over $2 to registered charities are tax deductible from your income tax in real life. We will include relevant information on your invoice to use as evidence where required. [REDACTED DUE TO LEGAL REASONS] - We are unable to issue Deductable Gift Receipts (DGR) at this time. We recommend donating directly to headspace ( Here ) if you plan to donate a large amount in order to claim it back on tax. We would be thrilled to raise our goal of at least $3,000 this year, which we think is very achievable! With the effects of COVID-19 on peoples financial, interpersonal, work and living arrangements, mental health needs to be a big focus right now to ensure everyone can get through this tough time and stay strong, stay connected. It couldn't be a better time to get behind one of these fabulous charities and really make a difference and maybe save a life. We are excited about this new initiative and thank you all for getting involved! -- Zaydan OzzyGaming Community Manager References: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/summary-of-mental-health-services-in-australia/prevalence-impact-and-burden Health Direct - Australian Government https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/youth-suicide 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Molotov Posted October 5, 2020 Executive Share Posted October 5, 2020 First 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaxe Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Second also gonna donate! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goliath2093 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 This is a fantastic cause and you have an awesome selection of charities for the community to choose from! Great to see this, will definitely be opening up my wallet on Saturday :D. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGee Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 100% gonna be involved. This is a great cause 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Zaydan Posted October 5, 2020 Author Executive Share Posted October 5, 2020 Fifth! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vSeltic Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 lesgho 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johdan Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 This is awesome guys!!. I can't wait for more fundraiser like this in the future from such a great community. I'm %100 opening up the safe. I love to see this in a gaming community as a lot of people don't have good mental health. I'm choosing HeadSpace as my option from using there facilities in the past 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast260 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 head space 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicatude Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 First, what a great and thoughtful post. Secondly. this just goes, yet again, to prove how the execs, devs and staff of this server and community go above and beyond and really do things with the community in mind. It's so uplifting to see people using their power in a platform for good reasons and not just sitting back content at the level things are at. Thirdly - LS Legal is running it's race event that night so the stream itself was always going to have a bit of stuff going on, doing some giveaways for OG plats, paypal gift card, etc... now we have to step it up a gear... time to get into the office and make some videos and plans I think. 3k goal they say... Challenge Accepted "Attitude is Everything - If you can change your attitude, I guarantee you will change your life" - Nicatude 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAT OCK AP Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 fucking oath lets gooo! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoltFTW Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Absolutely a great cause! Awesome to see the OzzyGaming community really making a difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARSTRD Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 hey that's a great thing to do count me in for 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judehx Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Nice this is great!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penthrox Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 I am down 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordo Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 ÔØñ´©Å This is amazing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive The Silverback Posted October 5, 2020 Executive Share Posted October 5, 2020 ÔØñ´©Å Happy Gorilla 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo513 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 This is awesome! Glad to see the community (hopefully) coming together to support a serious cause! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innosencce Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Great Idea really hope to see the community hop into this and support such a important cause. Keen to donate ƒÿäƒÆø Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattii13 Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Done and donated! Happy to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Awesome Cause! - Headspace doing great things for Australia during COVID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Hiroshima Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 car goes hard, if you're wondering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaKazii Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Is it too late to donate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Hiroshima Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 2 hours ago, PandaKazii said: Is it too late to donate? Yeah sorry mate, Was a 1 day event on the 10/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
