Ban the booze for FebFast and help young Australians

When she was in high school, Carrie* started drinking alcohol every day to feel "happy and numb".

Then, after receiving disappointing Year 12 results three years ago, her life "spiralled out of control" and alcohol began to take control.

"I was a bit suicidal, a bit hopeless and my future was going nowhere," she said. "Mentally, I was in a really bad place and I couldn't dig myself out of it. I was hurting my family really badly."

After receiving counselling, she stayed at the Drug and Alcohol Youth Service (DAYS) in Perth for three weeks.

This program, which is a partnership between Mission Australia and Next Step, provides young people with drug and alcohol issues and their families with a comprehensive range of support services.

"The first week was terrible," Carrie recalled. "But I didn't want to leave because I'd put so much effort and planning into coming (to DAYS) and my family was so proud. I didn't want to let anyone down, least of all myself.”

Carrie is now studying writing at university while working at a pharmacy. She credits DAYS with helping save her life and is participating in FebFast to raise money for the centre.

"DAYS changed my life so much," Carrie said. "I don't like to think about what would have happened if I hadn't (stopped drinking), but I dare say I would probably be taking drugs by now and be waking up in hospital."

FebFast asks people to take a break from booze throughout February in order to raise funds for Mission Australia youth support services.

By taking part you will be supporting services such as DAYS; our Hindmarsh Centre’s after-hours mobile youth support service in South Australia, and Youth Beat, which reaches out to young people from it's base at Chigwell House in Glenorchy, Tasmania.

Time is running out, so register today at www.febfast.com.au (or click the FebFast link on our home page). You can kick-start your fundraising by donating $25 ($10 concession) as a registration fee.

*Name and image have been changed

Australian of the Year asks nation to ‘reach out and connect’

Australian of the Year Simon McKeon has urged people to get involved in the non-profit sector.

''I just want to encourage each and every Australian to reach out and connect,'' he told The Age after receiving the honour.

As executive chairman of the Melbourne operations of investment bank Macquarie Bank, he has led his colleagues in community activities.

Mr McKeon, who was appointed chairman of CSIRO last year and was on the board of World Vision Australia, asked Australians to look around and find where they can match their interests and skills to the needs of others.

''It might involve a little bit of sacrifice and discipline,'' he said. ''But, and this is just so crucial to understand, that participation has given me back so, so much more than I have given it.

''Just reach out and connect. I am not in any way seeking to have people do anything out of guilt. It is simply not about that. You can pick things that work for you.

''Talk to people you know and trust who are already involved… I am confident there is a cause for everyone,” he added. ''Think of how you can contribute - we all have different skills.''

To read the full story in The Age and view television coverage please visit this link

To find out about how you can volunteer your time and talents to help Mission Australia visit
missionaustralia.com.au/volunteer-at-mission-australia

Ron Paul : Recipe for a Successful 2011

Ron Paul
Infowars.com
January 5, 2011
The year 2011 brings in a host of opportunities and challenges to America. Will we accelerate toward economic insolvency by continuing the policies that have created this crisis, or will a new Congress elected on the energy of the Tea Party movement find the courage to change course?
With the new Republican majority in the House I will have the opportunity as a subcommittee chairman to take a careful look at our domestic monetary policy. I am excited by the prospect of real oversight of the Federal Reserve, but I also hope to focus on the important ways in which our foreign policy and monetary policy are related. Just last week the Financial Times reported that the limited oversight of the Federal Reserve allowed by the passage of a watered-down version of my Audit the Fed bill revealed that approximately 55 percent of the loans made available under the largest Federal Reserve bailout program, the Term Auction Facility, went to foreign banks! This is but one example of the real cost to Americans of maintaining its empire overseas, and it cries out for more transparency and oversight.
This is why it is key for us to understand that our foreign policy and current economic crisis go hand in hand. Some have promised to lead us back to fiscal responsibility while asserting that any reduction in our foreign and military spending is off the table. They would like us to believe that we should not only continue spending as much on the military as the rest of the world combined, but they actually call for an even more aggressive US policy abroad. They believe we should continue to bomb Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and elsewhere; that we must impose even more crippling sanctions on countries like Iran while moving steadily on to yet another Middle East war that is not in our interest. They represent the failed policies of the past and they would like to lead us down a dead-end street. We must resist the temptation of their neo-con inspired scare-mongering.
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