Since 2003, Oaktree has emerged as one of the most dynamic and groundbreaking development and aid organisations in Australia. Our volunteers are provocative, dedicated and determined.
We have more than 73,000 members, have spoken directly to well over 500,000 individuals about extreme poverty, and achieved an incredible media reach of over 100 million. Here is a snap shot of our most successful initiatives:
United Nations Millennium Development Goals Award (2010)
The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Awards are awarded by the United Nations for “significant and even miraculous accomplishments in the fight to end extreme poverty and suffering”. In September 2010 Oaktree took out the “Youth Leadership and Action” category, recognising Oaktree as one of the most dynamic and effective youth organisations focussed on poverty in the world. Oaktree accepted the award in New York as a part of its presence at the UN General Assembly. Other recipients included the President of Malawi for his leadership on food security in Africa.Live Below the Line (2010)
Together with our partners at the Global Poverty Project, we created Live Below the Line. An experiential fundraiser which saw thousands of Australians eat on just $2 a day (international extreme poverty line) for 5 days. In its first year over 2000 people participated, raising an incredible $520,000. They had over 240,000 conversations with friends & family about extreme poverty and we reached 10 million via the media. You can check out the website here.
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MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Roadtrip (2010)
1000 young Australians took to the road and in just 7 days reached over 17 million people through the media, had 47,091 people sign our petition calling for greater poverty action, and the whole campaign culminated with the single largest poverty focussed lobby day in Australia’s history as 1200 people met with 143 federal politicians. Read the full impact report here.
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End Child Slavery (2008)
We fought for the 8.4 million children who currently live in slavery. Thousands of young people took to the streets and campaigned around the country, putting direct pressure on chocolate and coffee companies to guarantee their supply chains were slave free. This culminated with simultaneous concerts around the country attended by thousands. In 2009 Cadbury announced their Dairy Milk Chocolate range would become entirely Fairtrade certified.
MTV Free Your Mind Award (2007)
In 2007, we were also presented with the prestigious ”Free Your Mind” award at the MTV Music Awards. The award recognises incredible effort and achievement in advancing global causes.
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ZEROSEVEN Roadtrip (2007)
At the midway point to the Millennium Development Goals, 700 Ambassadors campaigned across dozens of marginal seats around Australia. Over 35,000 Australians signed Australia’s first ever photo petition, and at the final campaign event, Kevin Rudd promised to increase foreign aid by $4.3 billion per year – a commitment that is now bipartisan. Read the full impact report here.
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Concert (2006)
The largest ever youth run concert in Australian history saw 15,000 people in Melbourne unite with an all star cast of artists like Bono, Pearl Jam, John Butler Trio, Evermore, Jet, Sarah Blasko, Paul Kelly. The event catapulted the cause into the public consciousness, and was broadcast live on Channel 10 and a DVD of the event was distributed to 300,000 via our partners at the Herald Sun.
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