Youth Focus Hawaiian Ride for Youth

One of Australia’s inaugural charity events, the Hawaiian Ride for Youth is an annual cycling challenge that sees passionate participants tackle a staggering 700km ride over four and a half days – from Albany in the state’s Great Southern region to Perth.

The ride has become a firm fixture in the calendars of cyclists around WA and further afield, attracting some of WA’s most prominent business men and women. In 2023, the ride boasts the most young people to have participated – with 25 riders under 30 years old. They all come together with the aim of raising much-needed funds and critical awareness for Youth Focus to support youth at risk of suicide and those living with mental health challenges.

As the pelotons cycle three routes: Coastal, Inland and Wheatbelt, the riders visit high schools along the journey to engage and inform students on issues of mental health – sharing their own journeys and opening up the floor for a safe and open discussion around the issues. It is these school visits that are often the most important and have become a fundamental platform for highlighting and creating conversations around the ever-increasing social issues and the daily mental health challenges faced by young people.

Since its inception in 2003, the three-time national award-winning Hawaiian Ride for Youth has raised more than $32 million to help Youth Focus provide free mental health services to thousands of young people across the state.

For over a decade Detail have been engaged to successfully manage the public relations campaign for the Hawaiian Ride for Youth and over the years have also sponsored a team on the Ride.

Detail have consistently delivered a high calibre of local and national coverage highlighting the riders, the event and most importantly, the Youth Focus key messages.

With a market that is saturated with more charity events than ever before, it has become increasingly difficult for individual charities to cut through the noise and convey their message through traditional media channels.

In addition, there has also been a stigma for many years surrounding mental health and the way in which it is reported on in the media, and as such, the need to deliver the key messages in new and interesting ways has always been at the forefront of the media strategy.

Detail continue to work with Youth Focus on an ongoing basis.