This year’s Daylesford ChillOut Festival Communities Caring for Children appeal has raised almost $27,000, thanks to the support of local businesses and residents including McKenzie’s Foods, celebrity auctioneer Dolly Diamond, and ChillOut sponsors Mercedes-Benz and Hepburn Shire Council. It’s estimated that the ChillOut Festival, the largest gay and lesbian festival in rural Australia, drew 25,000 visitors.

The money has enabled The Alannah and Madeleine Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework to be implemented in all Hepburn Shire primary schools. One in six children is bullied every week, and the framework is designed to create friendly, caring primary school communities where bullying is reduced. Bullying can have a devastating effect on a child, and children who bully are more likely to commit anti-social acts and crimes.

In Better Buddies, children starting school ‘buddy up’ with Year 6 students, helping younger children feel safe and cared for, while older children feel valued and respected.

Aileen Dellar, assistant principal of Creswick Primary School, welcomed the initiative. ''The Better Buddies Framework has been a valuable resource which we are using to enhance and improve our current initiatives,” she said.

ChillOut secretary Doug Pollard said partnering with AMF allows the GLTB community to contribute to the broader rural community.

“Bullying in schools is a major problem for the whole community. At the same time there is community suspicion around specific anti-homophobia programs,” he said. “The initiative gained instant acceptance in local schools because AMF is well-known, well-respected and non-threatening.”

The Better Buddies framework has also been modified to address gay issues. “AMF were unaware of the full extent of the problem until they got involved with ChillOut,” said Pollard. “So in future the anti-gay dimension of bullying will be addressed in all AMF anti-bullying programs across Australia.”

by KATHRYN GOLDIE

Details: www.amf.org.au; www.chilloutfestival.com