THE BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION RANGE

Every time you buy an accessory from the Butterfly Range, you’re helping raise vital funds for The Butterfly Foundation to tackle issues of negative body image and eating disorders and to support sufferers and their families.

REAL SUPPORT: SPORTSGIRL AND THE BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION

Real women, real issues - real support. Every day, the Butterfly Foundation does simply amazing work to assist eating disorder sufferers and promote positive body image; a cause Sportsgirls are very proud to support. Hear firsthand what this help really means!

To date, you've helped us raise over $1.2million for the Butterfly Foundation.

There is nothing like hearing directly from the many people who the Butterfly Foundation helps, just how much this support means.

The story below is one of many, told to us by an anonymous woman who has been helped by the Butterfly Foundation:

"The staff at Butterfly are so passionate about helping people like me and it is just so fantastic that Sportsgirl have taken such a stance and presence on this issue. Thank you to all involved at Sportsgirl for being a part of my journey to recovery, and for seeing the true ugliness and also the beauty that is possible behind this illness and shouting it out loud for all to listen to."

ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION

In 2006, Sportsgirl staff from across the country nominated negative body image and eating disorders as the issue that is most important to them and their friends.

This led to the search to find the best way in which Sportsgirl could help raise awareness and funds to support this serious issue.

Sportsgirl is proud to be the major fashion retail partner of non-profit organisation The Butterfly Foundation, to promote and address prevention and early intervention of eating disorders and issues related to body image.

Sportsgirl is the first Australian fashion retailer to make a public statement of commitment to positive body image. We have also developed a range of exclusive Butterfly products available in stores to help raise money and awareness so The Butterfly Foundation can improve understanding about eating disorders and give support to people who need it most. Sportsgirl also tackles negative body image issues by training staff about positive body language to use amongst themselves and with customers and introducing store policies that set good examples.

'We recognise dieting and low self-esteem are the greatest risk factors to developing eating disorders and we take our responsibilities as a leading fashion retailer and employer of young women, seriously' said Elle Roseby, General Manager Sportsgirl.

ABOUT THE ISSUE

After obesity and asthma, eating disorders are the most common illness in females aged 15-24. Anorexia nervosa is the most serious of all psychiatric illnesses in Australia. Anorexia nervosa has been diagnosed in children as young as 8 with 75% of cases starting before 16 years. Bulimia nervosa more commonly affects older teenagers and young adults.

'The money donated and raised through Sportsgirl makes a significant contribution to our work around Australia but this partnership means much more to Butterfly. It's about one of Australia's most recognised fashion brands taking a stand and a lead on positive body issues... it’s Sportsgirl’s reach, the messages we can send about health and self-esteem and the awareness we can raise amongst young women,' said Claire Vickery, Founder The Butterfly Foundation.

The earlier the intervention, the more likely the recovery. Eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice nor are they strictly about food or weight; they are about anxiety, low self-esteem, identity and a lack of direction in life. Sufferers of eating disorders express such suffering through their bodies and food where others who have such low self-worth may use drugs, alcohol or risk taking behaviour as a form of self-abuse.

For more information visit www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

OUR CONTRIBUTION

SPORTSGIRL FUNDRAISING UPDATE: $1.2million AND COUNTING!

Your support makes a huge difference:

• Butterfly House in Sydney is about to undergo an interior transformation courtesy Sportsgirl fundraising. A $30,000 facelift will provide an environment of hope and support for parents, sufferers, teachers, carers and medical practitioners. Work in 2011/12 will include a training room for workshops and support groups, a new quiet space carers lounge, a new waiting room and a welcoming court yard. Butterfly House offers clinicians rooms, group therapy facilities and holistic allied health programs providing a continuum of care across prevention, treatment and management of eating disorders, disordered eating and negative body image issues.

• Australia’s only national telephone and online counselling Support Line dedicated solely to individuals affected by eating disorders and negative body image has been started courtesy Sportsgirl support. In its first year of operation (2010) the Butterfly Foundation’s support line has received over 1500 telephone calls and 900 emails. Sportsgirl has made a three year commitment to this program valued at $300,000. The Support Line provides a variety of guidance and hope for callers ranging from parents with families that are in crisis from dealing with the impact of living with someone with an eating disorder, to students concerned about a friend, to sufferers with suicidal feelings or severe anxiety/panic about getting through a holiday period e.g. Christmas.

• A Butterfly Wing has been built at Westmead Children’s Hospital in NSW for families from across NSW and New Zealand to stay for up to three weeks at a time with their son or daughter who is receiving treatment in the adjacent Adolescent Eating Disorders clinic at the hospital. With the help of a specialist therapist and dietician on hand during their stay families will be given practical tools, therapy and emotional guidance on caring for the patient when they return home.

• The Centre for Adolescent Health Eating Disorder Clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital has been able to employ a part time clinical psychologist and specialist liaison nurse to support at least fifty families and young people aged 12 to 19.

• Weekly Direct Financial Relief is given for a year to support eighteen sufferers across Australia from disadvantaged backgrounds, to access dieticians, nutritionists or psychologists on a weekly basis to help them recover from their illness. This support has been ongoing for four years now.

• We’ve also helped employ a Direct Relief Manager who is the first point of contact for sufferers and families and helps direct them to appropriate services and support in their state or regions.

• A Rural Support Program has been to employ a specialist psychologist for three years to guide parents and helps minimise the chance of a relapse when patients are discharged from city hospitals and return home to the country. The program has now attracted government support

• Women’s Healthworks in Western Australia has run a five month Body Esteem Program for ten women who have suffered eating disorders.

More information on our partnership with The Butterfly Foundation can be found at: www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

To read Sportsgirls statement of commitment please download our PDF here.

GET INVOLVED

Get involved and help us raise funds to help continue the great work done by the Butterfly Foundation. In every Sportsgirl store and online you can find items exclusively for the Butterfly Foundation. The profits collected from these items are donated back to The Butterfly Foundation to help those with eating disorders. SHOP NOW!