Resolutions / Wellbeing

Are you wearing blue for Dolly?

Kindness costs nothing, and means everything.


 

May 9 marks Do It For Dolly Day; it's a day to raise awareness and funds in the pursuit of ending bullying.

Blue was Dolly Everett's favourite colour. She lived in one of the most remote parts of Australia, where she spent her days with her sister and best friend Meg. Once high-school age, the girls were enrolled in a boarding school. It was here that Dolly dealt with a years-long spate of vicious abuse. At age 14, Dolly took her own life.

Her death sent shockwaves through Australia. Steadfast that Dolly's story would not be in vain, her parents Kate and Tick and sister Meg were instrumental in the enshrining of Dolly's Law – a law criminalising online bullying.

Since then, her family founded Dolly's Dream, a charity dedicated to bringing and end to bullying – and the devastating impact it can have. Once a year, the Dolly's Dream organisation celebrates Do It For Dolly Day, a moment dedicated to bringing a focus to the harm bullying can cause.

This year, Do It For Dolly Day falls on 9 May. Every single day, young people across the country deal with bullying. And it is no longer left in the school yard. Our ever-connected world means that bullying follows our young people home. It bleeds into every aspect of their worlds, it's debilitating and devastating.

There are many ways to support Do It For Dolly Day. You can register a community event, you can raise awareness, you can make a donation – or you can simply wear blue for Dolly. All of these actions will be in in the pursuit of a world free from bullying. It is a time where all of us can hold conversations and promote a message of kindness. Because kindness costs nothing, and means everything.

When we spoke with Dolly's sister Meg Everett last year, we asked her what was the best way to support Do It For Dolly Day. Her answer was to simply be kind. "Your kindness may change the course of someone’s life. Be an upstander, speak up on behalf of someone else. This takes great courage," she says.

In honour of Do It For Dolly Day, RUSSH has created a commemorative hat that reminds us all it’s cool to be kind. They're available in Dolly’s favourite shade of blue, and 100% of proceeds will be donated to Dolly’s Dream. Worn as a simple gesture of solidarity, the hat is a reminder to choose empathy, speak up, and create safer, kinder spaces for the next generation. Available from May 9th, on the RUSSH store.

You can donate on Do It For Dolly Day through Do It For Dolly's website.

 


$2 from the sale of every subscription to RUSSH Magazine is donated to Do It For Dolly.

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