| Red Frogs | |
| Type: | Christian charitable organisation |
| Founded Date: | [1] |
| Founder: | Andy Gourley[2] |
Red Frogs Australia is a Christian Youth charity run by volunteers known as the 'Red Frogs Crew'. The volunteers participate in many events that are attended by school leavers and university students such as schoolies week.[3] Since 1997, Allens' has donated over 24 tonnes of the red frog confectionery every year. The Crew's vision is to "safeguard a generation" that is outworked through education, early intervention and harm minimisation.
In 1997, founder Andy Gourley attended schoolies week on the Gold Coast with some of his friends and had an impression that a large amount of binge drinking and illicit drug use were taking place. Gourley gathered a select group of young volunteers to provide chaplaincy support for the school leavers. The sponsorship arrangement with Allen's Red Frogs gave the volunteers confectionery to use as a conversation starter, then Gourley and his friends would offer to help walk intoxicated people home.[4] In a 2010 interview, Gourley stated: "Schoolies to me... really [is] safeguarding a generation of Australia's next leaders... It's building a fence at the top of the cliff, rather than being an ambulance at the bottom."[5]
Schoolies week is the Red Frog Crew's main event of the year in which they take part. The event is notorious for the amount of drinking and acts of violence that occur during the two-week period of celebrations and partying.
The Red Frogs Crew start involvement with the university year from the Orientation Week. In an attempt to keep a good relationship with university students, the Crew members keep a stall during orientation week in which they handout approximately 60,000 University Planners, 10,000 donuts, 5,000 icy poles, and 6 tonnes of Red Frogs.
Red Frogs have since expanded internationally into countries such as New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada and USA.