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Third Man Up: A helping hand for charities

Community youth come together to raise funds to help existing charities keep up the good work

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Charities may exist to help those in need – after all that is their purpose – but sometimes, they need a helping hand too. While bigger and well-established organisations have the resources to do so, both financial and non-financial, the smaller ones often find it challenging to raise funds for lack of same, eventually having to shut shop.
It was this notion that paved the way for Third Man Up (TMU), a local not-for-profit organisation founded that helps the large and growing charity sector in Australia by raising funds to support their activities.
Instead of starting another charity, in a rather saturated market, the founders of TMU felt that their skills and association were better placed to support existing charitable organisations realise their potential and in the process, aim to create awareness for the range of difficulties that young people face.

TMU.IndianLink
Founders of TMU

Founded in November 2016 by a group of university graduates and young professionals with a diverse skillset in business, law, public policy and technology, TMU’s aim is to host sports, entertainment and social events to support the health, development and well-being of young people of all backgrounds in Australia. The funds raised from the events are transferred to worthy charities who share the same mission and goals.
Jude Newton, Srinath Susarla, Suri Samsoodeen, Rishi Kher and Natasha Arora all appreciated the fact that society needed an organisation to work alongside established charities to allow them to concentrate their efforts on what they were good at – making social impact.
So far, they have supported Helping Hoops, Father Bob Maguire Foundation, Ladder Foundation, Wavecare Counselling and Support Service and Youth Projects, to name a few. TMU also attended a local primary school recently to share their experiences about volunteering for a not-for-profit organisation with Year 5 students.
The Peregrine Cup, TMU’s exhibition AFL match fundraiser

Jude told Indian Link, “A lot of the smaller charities do not have the resources or bandwidth to commit to raising funds. Their only source of funds is from government grants and individual donations. With government grants, charities are restricted on how they can spend funds, and individual donations only make up 5% of revenue allocation.”
The funds received from TMU have allowed charities to fund projects that no longer receive support and would have seized.
For example, Wavecare Counselling had a pro-bono counselling program to allow walk-ins to receive free counselling sessions from a registered mental health counsellor. This program was going to shut down, until TMU offered to donate the funds from one of their events.
Similarly, Youth Projects has a kitchen on its premises open to homeless people. A program that taught individuals how to cook was expected to end. However, the $4,000 raised from TMU’s Trivia Night helped keep it active.
Since its establishment, TMU has raised and donated over $19,000 across six events, including a basketball tournament, trivia night, exhibition AFL match and a cocktail night. “Each event has had a charity carefully selected to be the recipient of the funds,” Suri explained.
The AFL exhibition match hosted by TMU and formally known as the Peregrine Cup involved 60 players from Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent raising funds for the Ladder Foundation. Jude explained, “The purpose of this game was to showcase the strength of AFL in bringing ethnic communities together in a fun and enjoyable environment.”
It’s a unique concept, as Rishi pointed out. “TMU is unique because its impact can be felt from not only the funds raised, but the events themselves.”
For example, at the basketball tournament, a creative form of engagement developed has been a wheelchair clinic for participants to learn and play by sitting in a wheelchair in a safe and friendly environment. This has been a hit amongst all those present and has significantly raised awareness for those with a disability.
For the remainder of 2018, TMU will be hosting in Victoria a newly-introduced Futsal Tournament, the Peregrine Cup and a cocktail night.
Suri added, “Once TMU is strongly established in Victoria, the volunteers are keen to explore the idea of creating events interstate to raise money for charities in their communities.”
TMU is always on the lookout for volunteers. Srinath mentioned that the organisation has been fortunate to have Dev Bhattacharya and Juhi Pandya join the team in the last 12 months. In addition, TMU is planning to create a database for charities to find skilled professionals who are interested in volunteering to assist them in developing their organisation.
People can reach out to TMU through the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thirdmanup

Carl Buhariwala
Carl Buhariwala
Carl is a freelance reporter who has a passion to promote community events, the work of not-for-profit organisations and new ideas. He enjoys meeting people and documenting their work for others to read.

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