Come Friday, June 8, the Illawarra will once again be embraced by many angels who will be out in force to raise needed funds for the local Leukaemia Foundation centre who supports patients and their families currently battling blood cancers.

We are now taking registrations of all young people who want to wear a set of wings and make an impact in the Illawarra. Just fill in the registration form below.

Applications are now open for the 2012 Top Bloke Awards to win $3,000 for your volunteer organisation.

The Top Bloke Awards recognise the positive volunteer achievements of young men within the Illawarra while break downing those negative stereotypes that we often see in the media.

Here is what previous finalists have to say about entering:

“My involvement in the 2010 Awards allowed me to demonstrate to other young guys how easy it is to become an active member of our community, while providing me with excellent networking opportunities and personal development sessions. It was good fun, that helped a great cause, which ended up getting me a great job” Chris Gibbs, 2010 Winner

“My experience with the Top Blokes Foundation was absolutely awesome and has helped me both personally and professionally ever since. I had the opportunity to undertake public speaking training, professional mentoring and just gained so much confidence that will help me for years to come. I recommend it to anyone who is keen to get involved!” Matt Dawson, 2010 Finalist

When I think of the term Top Bloke and what it means to me I immediately think of my father. He comes to mind not because he is a superstar or has achieved some sort of world breaking discovery, but simply because in my view he has being without a doubt a great father and role model to his family and friends – and that to me is what a Top Bloke really is about.

He is a very caring, loyal and selfless man who grew up in a working class family and who has spent all his life giving his best to everything he put his mind too. Whether it was as a Fitter and Turner in heavy industry or training young apprentices, or of late caring for his four grandchildren, he has always tried to do his very best.

My father is a Top Bloke because he would never consider himself to be one. In fact he is the first to lend a hand and the last to take any credit for helping someone out. He is a community minded person, who believes that if you can make your local community a better place to live and work then you have an obligation to do something about it.

Top Blokes are not always high profile people. But they are people who have made a difference in a positive way to their community and those around them. My father will leave this world knowing he has made an enormous impact on his loved ones and those who have been luck enough to come across him throughout their lives.

I hope that I can be the sort of father to my son as my own Dad is to me, that is put it simply….a real Top Bloke.

When asked what it means to be a Top Bloke, Cr Crasnich pointed to respect.

“A top bloke is someone who is respectful of everyone else. He will help you out when he can and he won’t take more than he should,” Cr Crasnich said. “He doesn’t have a sense of entitlement and he is self-determined.”

Cr Crasnich was able to list a few men who were role models for aspiring top blokes.

“A few people come to mind,” he said. “The Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, and not just because he is a colleague.” Cr Crasnich said Mr Ward gets heavily involved in the community, and supports groups like Lions. “He encouraged me to get involved in Junior Chamber International,” Cr Crasnich said. He also nominated former NSW Liberal Leader John Brogden and actor Micky Rourke as inspiring top blokes. Fellow Wollongong Councillors John Dorahy and Leigh Colacino were also top bloke role models, according to Cr Crasnich.

Cr Crasnich pointed out that the qualities ascribed to top blokes should not be limited to men. “Women can be great leaders also,” he said. He nominated a former boss as an inspiring leader and role model. He also said that more young women should get involved in NSW politics.

Cr Crasnich said one of the most important ways young people can contribute to their community is by taking an active interest. “They should find out who their local councillors are, who their local members of parliament are,” he said. “Then you know who to contact and harass.”

He said Councillors and members were there to represent their community and the community should use that to their advantage.

You can follow Cr Crasnich on Twitter @BedeCrasnich.

This is part of what we told them:

Australian character has long been defined by identifiably masculine traits but there have been very few attempts to discuss at length the very structure of that innate blokehood. The Top Blokes Foundation seeks to support the development of young men into top blokes. We do this by seeking out young men who make a positive contribution to their community and promoting their achievements. We also equip young men with the skills and confidence to participate in their communities. The Foundation was established initially in reaction to negative portrayals of young men in the media in Wollongong.

As a community leader, I invite you to contribute an anecdote, an essay, a poem, a picture or a joke that provides some insight into what it means to be a good man – or, in our case, a Top Bloke. Your contribution can be any length and may address any topic, provided it contributes to the overall theme. You may choose to address gender, families, fatherhood, sport, relationships and sex, ethics, education, politics, or any other topic you see fit.

We will post their responses here on this blog for you to see. 

Valentines Day. The one day of the year where love should be the only emotion felt all over the world. Except if you’re a bloke. A growing culture of men are beginning to speak out about the pressures felt each year to perform on Valentines Day with many underestimating how stressful preparation can be. To combat this, two young men took the brave step to alleviate some of the pressures young men feel by producing a practical reminder video for all Aussie Blokes – titled This Valentines Day. Matthew and James, from Little Apple Media teamed up with the Top Blokes Foundation, a charity that empowers young men to become top blokes in the community, have showcased what could occur if a bloke forgets Valentines Day and how to ignite their inner top bloke for the woman they love.

Launched online, 13th February 2012, immediate hits to the video revealed that many Aussie blokes could identify with this video, with viewers sharing the video on Facebook, often commenting which ‘bloke’ in the video they are “Good to see the Top Blokes Foundation is helping out the common bloke, I would have been the dude with the fur hat” commented Ben Abraham, a bloke residing in Wollongong, NSW.

This Valentines Day – Ignite Your Inner Top Bloke – is about the choices and decisions made by a typical bloke and a Top Bloke leading up to Valentines Day. “Valentines Day whether we choose to believe it or not, is a day that affects men. With Australia’s largest network of top blokes, we simply wanted to help young men in Australia get stress free during the most romantic day of the year,” commented Melissa Abu-Gazaleh, Managing Director of the Top Blokes Foundation.

To view how to be a Top Bloke on Valentines Day and be apart of the Top Blokes “Love” Movement please visit www.facebook.com/topblokesfoundation or www.youtube.com/topblokesfoundation

For any further details contact:

Jacinta Kennedy

0435847105 or jacinta@topblokes.org.au

and visit www.topblokes.org.au to find out more about our organisation.

Are you ready to become inspired by the Hillross Top Bloke Finalists for 2012? If you’ve attended any of our previous awards dinners, then you’d know just how well impacted you can be by watching these shining examples on stage.

With a panel of judges on the night, you’ll watch the finalists engage in three entertaining and interactive speaking segments, showcasing their passions for volunteering. With a fresh start in 2012, the winner of the night will receive $3,000 to donate to their volunteer organisation.

To attend one of the most entertaining awards night, fill out the registration form below.

Hunter Awards Date: Friday, 22nd June 2012

Time: 6.30pm

Location: Merewether Surf House                                      

Dress: Black Tie

Cost: Early Bird $85 or $800 per table of 10

Illawarra Awards Date: Friday, 31st August 2012

Time: 6.30pm

Location: City Beach Function Centre

Dress: Black Tie

Top Blokes Foundation is partnering with Living Works to provide you with practical and affordable training in SafeTalk – Living Works Suicide Prevention Program.

This evening training you will help you to build the skills to appropriately deal with any one who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Living Works is a nationally recognised suicide prevention and intervention training agency that provides various types of suicide prevention training. They aim to:

• Increase awareness of suicide and see prevention opportunities that may otherwise miss

• Become more alert to clues and communications that someone may be thinking of suicide

• Ask about suicide and respond in ways that show understanding and assess risk

• Work with persons at risk to increase their safety

• Facilitate links with further help from family, friends and professional helpers as needed

To find out more about Living Works click here

2012 will see Top Blokes Foundation work alongside Living Works to host and provide suicide prevention training for young men, young women, parents and community members across the Illawarra region.

It was safe to say that no one was jealous of the 3 judges for the night who had an extremely difficult task ahead of them. MP Victor Dominello, Minister for Communities and Citizenship, Dianne Chalk – Director of Hillross Fairy Meadow and Greg Millan, Founder and Coordinator of the National Men’s Health Service all sat on the judging panel ready to find the next Hillross Top Bloke of the Year.

First segment started off nice and light, with each finalist introduced by the MC, a short introductory video and then the 2 minute prepared speech. The finalists were inspiring, funny and at times challenged the audience in their thinking of young men and volunteering. Then came segment two – the ultimate test: the Stereotype Challenge. Each audience member submitted a stereotype that they often hear about young men. Each finalist then randomly selected a stereotype from the silver bowl (ohh the silver bowl) and had up to 2 minutes to address that stereotype. Stereotype highlights – finding out that in fact not all young men think about sex and that Bon Jovi actually eats 11 week bix’s (yeah long story – video coming shortly). Segment Three – the Judges Questions was the judges final chance to test the finalists on their feet. Questions from ‘What would you do if you were Prime Minister for a Day?’ (And yup – making Melbourne Cup Day a public holiday was in the top 3 policy changes!) to ‘What is the hardest feeling you have ever felt?’, each finalist shared their stories, passion and hopes for the future.

Then came the announcements.

Winner of the Finalists Choice Award - where finalists vote on which other finalist they respect the most – Winner - Ben Abraham

Winner of the Peoplecare People’s Choice Award - where the public voted online for their favourite Top Blok – Winner - Joey Dawson

Winner of the Hillross Top Bloke Award for 2011 and $3,000 for their volunteer organisation – as voted by the judges on the evening - Celli Lloyd

But we might just keep it there for now…watch this space for the video highlights. We give thanks to each Finalist, Judge and Sponsor for helping to make this night happen. All money raised on the night goes towards the Winner’s Volunteer Organisation (Celli announced on the night that he intends to split his prize money with all 5 finalists volunteer organisations), as well as supporting the Top Blokes Foundation develop and implement new community programs to reach more young men.