Australia : The Royal Australian Navy has again participated in Ocsober, with ships and establishments all over Australia coming together to form teams and raise funds to support Life Education in their quest to teach Australian children to make good choices when it comes to alcohol.
This is the third year the Navy has supported Life Education’s Ocsober program and this year Navy took a different approach, going from one team to encouraging every ship and establishment to sign up to the cause. This competitive spirit has seen greater Navy participation and increased fundraising efforts.
Together the Navy teams and individual participants raised a total of $45,203 which is $31,000 more than last year. Four Navy teams finished in the top ten team fundraisers from aroundAustralia. Navy provided the largest corporate contribution to Ocsober with a total of 106 people participating which was more than twice the number involved in 2011.
One of the highest fundraisers was Navy’s most senior sailor, the Warrant Officer of the Navy, Warrant Officer Martin Holzberger.
“We are working very hard to ensure our people enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and that includes the responsible consumption of alcohol, so to see so many Navy people getting behind a good cause is very reassuring and tells me that we are succeeding in our mission,” said Warrant Officer Holzberger.
Individual participants from all over Navy enjoyed the opportunity to put a greater focus on their personal health and well being and reap the benefits of a month without a drink. Seaman Fiona White, currently serving in HMAS Tobruk , saw Ocsober as the perfect motivation to improve on her already healthy lifestyle.
“The Navy sets fairly high standards in terms of us maintaining our overall physical and mental fitness, but there is always room for improvement and Ocsober provided me with the perfect launch pad to re-assess my own lifestyle and further develop my health and well-being,” said Seaman White.
The top Navy team was Canberra’s HMAS Harman, which raised more than $14,397. The team was led by the Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Ray Griggs AO CSC RAN.
“I am extremely proud of the achievements of everybody who participated in Ocsober. It provides a timely reminder to all of us to consciously consider the role that alcohol plays in our lives” said Vice Admiral Griggs