Industry digs deep for Hard Hat Campaign

Industry digs deep for Hard Hat CampaignNearly half of all homeless Australians are young people. Nicholle Sparkes, general manager of construction for Frasers Property Australia, says our industry can make a real difference to this statistic.Every night across Australia there are more than 44,000 young people who are homeless. In fact, 43 per cent of Australians without a safe place to sleep are under the age of 25 and 17 per cent are under the age of 12.Since it was established in 1996, the Property Industry Foundation has distributed $15 million to build safe accommodation and to support charities delivering programs for homeless and at-risk youth.Sparkes (pictured right), who serves on the Foundation’s NSW board of advisors, says it’s impossible not be touched by the stories of the young people dealing with homelessness. One story that has resonated with her is of a young girl couch surfing and living in her car, who changed for work each morning in the office stairwell.”I couldn’t imagine what that would be like – the cold and the fear of someone finding you, of people knowing you don’t have a home to go to. I thought this was not acceptable and I wanted to do something about it,” Sparkes says.Now a champion for the Property Industry Foundation within Frasers Property Australia, which is a national supporter of the Foundation, Sparkes says her day job of building homes for people is a “natural fit” with a desire to help people who don’t have homes.The national PIF House Program, for example, builds homes for at-risk and homeless young people across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Sparkes’ team is currently building a PIF House in Sydney’s Blacktown, a five-bedroom home in conjunction with Marist180, which is slated for completion later this year.Rosemary Smithson (pictured left), the Foundation’s chief executive officer says the PIF House Program aims to build 125 bedrooms over the next five years to support disadvantaged young people. “In campaigns like National Hard Hat, we get fantastic support from the industry,” Smithson says. “As we complete three more houses this year, including the one at Blacktown, we are increasing our positive, life-changing impact on young people.”Being involved with PIF provides “benefits to the community but also to our company,” Sparkes adds and is a chance for up-and-coming members of Frasers’ team to upskill. “We have 180 homes under construction in an adjacent development, and the PIF House Program is a chance for some of our young talent to manage their first projects,” she says.Frasers Property Australia also raises money for PIF’s flagship National Hard Hat Campaign each year – whether it’s a large-scale barbecue or a small team bake-off. “Sometimes our partners provide items that we can raffle, and sometimes we just walk around our sites with a hard hat,” Sparkes explains.”People in our industry are so generous. We just have to say we are trying to make a tangible difference to people’s lives, and they automatically reach into their pockets. That’s what our industry is like.” Smithson says the National Hard Hat Campaign is “very much about staff within companies getting together and putting on fundraising events.”Companies like the campaign because it provides team-building opportunities that engage entire teams and enhance the community spirit within the workplace,” Smithson concludes.For further information on the National Hard Hat Campaign visit www.hardhatcampaign.com.au.Image left to right: Rosemary Smithson, CEO, Property Industry Foundation and Nicholle Sparkes, General Manager, Construction, Frasers Property Australia