Bairnsdale will band together for ‘Do It For Dolly Day’ on Friday, May 10, if Bairnsdale Horse Centre’s Carlee Knight has anything to do with it.
“Do It For Dolly Day is an initiative which hopes to extend the Dolly’s Dream message within our community and build on the support available for those impacted by bullying,” Carlee said.
“We want to continue to raise awareness about the issue of bullying, provide support and deliver educational resources for parents whose kids may be bullied or bullying.”
May 10 is the first national ‘Do It For Dolly’ day and in Bairnsdale it’s been coined ‘Bairnsdale Bands Together’.
“We want the day to be a fun one that literally paints Bairnsdale blue for Dolly. It would be awesome to see businesses with the poster in their windows, wearing blue, and raising funds for Dolly’s Dream,” Carlee said.
“I want to show other towns that anyone can make a difference, all it takes is a bit of legwork.”
Carlee has been instrumental in delivering the Dolly’s Dream message since February last year and in the process has donated over $100,000 to the organisation.
She is also the parent of a four-year-old and a firm believer in power of the ‘Be Kind’ message that is the crux of the Dolly’s Dream philosophy.
“Bairnsdale is an awesome town and people have really got behind my efforts to support Dolly’s Dream and now I hope they will go one step further and organise their own events and fundraising for May 10,” Carlee said.
“Bairnsdale Bands Together is about the collective power of individuals to have a huge impact and we’ll keep track of all the events and tally up the fundraising so that we can present the total amount from Bairnsdale. Hopefully this will inspire other communities to work together and do the same in following years.”
Carlee said there was a list of ideas for workplaces, schools, community groups and sporting teams on the Bairnsdale Horse Centre website, as well as merchandise for purchase, which results in a donation to Dolly’s Dream.
Items range from the Akubra Dolly Butterfly pin to fishing shirts.
“We are asking that people post images and video of their efforts to social media using the hashtags #doitfordollyday, #dollysdreamaustralia #bairnsdalebandstogether so others can see what is being done.”
Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett took her life after prolonged bullying and her parents Tick and Kate set up Dolly’s Dream, an organisation devoted to the prevention of bullying and offering support to the victims of bullying.
The purpose of Do It For Dolly day is twofold; to get the community at large talking about the effects of bullying and how they can change behaviours and support those who are impacted by bullying and secondly to act as a national day of community fundraising.
