Helloworld Travel has entered into a partnership with Ollie’s Echo, a charity set up to tackle eating disorders among young people.
The charity was founded in 2024 by Brisbane mum Mia Bannister in honour of her son Oliver ‘Ollie’ Hughes, who took his own life at 14 after a battle with anorexia nervosa fuelled by aggressive and demeaning commentary on social media.
The support of Helloworld as the first corporate partnership with Ollie’s Echo: Pathways to Prevention will accelerate the efforts of the charity to educate around the topic of eating disorders in young people, particularly boys.
Andrew Burnes, Helloworld’s CEO and Managing Director, learned of the work of Ollie’s Echo through the media and was quick to engage, making a $30,000 partnership commitment.
“We are proud to support Ollie’s Echo and the extraordinary work that Mia does in supporting young people and giving them a voice,” he said.
“Supporting Ollie’s Echo is deeply aligned with our values of compassion and community impact. We want to help create a future where young people feel supported, heard and empowered.
“We see this as a true partnership; it’s part of our commitment to mental health in the digital age.
“By helping Ollie’s Echo expand on the great work they are doing through school workshops, family programs and online resources, we aim to ensure that kids are supported before social media pressures take hold.
“We stand with Ollie’s Echo to help change the narrative around mental well-being, body image and the impact of digital life.”
Mia and Ollie’s Echo have been part of a national movement to manage the access to social media platforms by young people in the interests of their health and wellbeing.
Recently, Mia stood beside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to announce YouTube’s inclusion in Australia’s world-leading age-restricted social media legislation.
“Andrew’s approach bought a tear to my eye but so much joy as well,” said Mia.
“We had started building our ‘kindness kits’ to be shared with school children but we didn’t know how we could scale the project to really make a difference. Saying that we are grateful for Helloworld Travel’s involvement, just does not go far enough.”
Traditionally associated with girls, eating disorders are on the rise in boys and male adolescents, with data indicating 30 per cent of all sufferers are male.
“This support from Helloworld Travel will help us to do more work on a huge problem that’s growing before our eyes. It’s a pain that no young person should have to go through. With kindness and understanding we can make a difference,” added Mia.
Main image: Andrew Burnes and Mia Bannister
