ICON WA in the Community: The return of the Charity Hackathon

It’s that time of year again to use your professional skills and talent for good! After the roaring success of last year’s Charity Hackathon - where we helped three charities find the way forward to tackle specific strategic, marketing and communications challenges - ICON WA members told us to make this a regular fixture on the calendar.

So, join us on Friday 11th October afternoon to finish your week off with a real ‘Feel-good’ factor as you rise to the issues brought to the table by four more charities and social enterprises (SEs) in need.

Our friends from Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health (FISH), Cahoots, Law Access and The Smith Family can’t wait to collaborate with the unique mix of talented ICON members on ways to address challenges and opportunities they face, many of which are common in our own organizations. Most charities and SEs run on minimal marketing resources and funds so your help will assist greatly.

How it works? We’re holding a lunchtime workshop where our chosen organisations will share a top pain point within our area of expertise. ICON members, working in teams, will then act as quasi Board Directors and use design thinking principles to co-develop ideas that can be implemented to boost strategic marketing efforts.

Who are the charities/ SEs?

• Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health (FISH) is a registered Australian tax exempt charity committed to breaking the cycle of generational trauma, poverty and engagement in the justice system for Aboriginal people and enabling them to be valued by and able to positively contribute to their community. FISH’s vision is that Aboriginal people are confident, connected, healthy, have equal opportunities with education, training, employment and life choices and are valued as positive, healing and leading contributors to community in connecting people to caring for each other and caring for their country. For more details, click here.
• Cahoots creates inclusive opportunities for children and young people living with disability and others that face exceptional challenges to develop friendships, skills and confidence. As a registered NDIS provider, they run a variety of programs and camps throughout the year, catering to children and young people of all abilities. Cahoots mission is to create inclusive opportunities for children and young people living with disability and others that face exceptional challenges to develop friendships, skills and confidence. Click here for more details.
• Law Access is a not-for-profit organisation that coordinates the giving of pro bono (no fee) legal assistance by the Western Australian legal profession. Our vision is equal access to justice for all Western Australians. The service is targeted at not-for-profits and individuals in genuine need of legal assistance who satisfy a means and merits test. As a community legal service of last resort, we assist some of the most vulnerable people in WA from all over the State in family, criminal and civil law to connect with lawyers willing to assist them on a pro bono (no fee) basis. Where appropriate we also make referrals for pro bono lawyer assisted mediation. More information available on their website.
• The Smith Family is the largest children’s education charity helping young Australians in need to succeed at school, so they can create better futures for themselves. The Smith Family’s flagship Learning for Life program currently helps more than 43,000 young Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed at school, through an innovative three-pronged approach. Learning for Life provides each student with a combination of financial and personal support, as well as vital learning and mentoring programs that help them keep up and stay motivated throughout their school years. This proven, holistic approach is improving the attendance and advancement rates at school for young people living in disadvantage, and in addition, is enabling them to be engaged in higher education studies, training or work after leaving the program. For more details, click here. 

So, get your creative juices flowing and join us to help those who are making a positive difference in our Perth community. The best and most practical ideas will be voted on to win a prize!

Event details: