Our Story & Mission
Since our establishment in 1998 as a traveling regional exhibition, we have grown into one of Australia's leading providers of Upstander education.
Our Story
Courage to Care is an initiative of B’nai B’rith – the world’s oldest Jewish service organisation.
Inspired by the remarkable stories of rescue and survival made possible by Upstanders during the Holocaust, B’nai B’rith Victoria established Courage to Care and launched its first exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Australia in 1992.
Courage to Care NSW was established six years later, in 1998.
Initially focused on a traveling exhibition that highlighted the compassion and bravery of Upstanders during modern history’s darkest hour, the first Courage to Care NSW exhibitions were held in Armidale and Newcastle in 1999.
The exhibitions had an immediate and powerful impact on the communities they reached. In response to this success, Courage to Care developed an Upstander Program to accompany the exhibitions.
These programs aimed at engaging local school students and audiences in the communities the exhibition visited by bringing the lessons of the Holocaust into contemporary focus and providing the powerful opportunity to meet and hear a Holocaust Survivor’s story.
The ongoing success of our Exhibition Upstander Programs eventually gave rise to an expanded focus on developing the schools-based Upstander Programs that now account for the majority of our operations, alongside workplace programs, teacher professional learning, and other community initiatives.
Growing year after year, we have now reached over 200,000 Australians with our work — and currently deliver Upstander Programs to approximately 15,000 students annually across NSW, QLD and ACT.
From school classrooms to community spaces and beyond, we use the lessons of history to transform bystander behaviour into Upstander confidence.
Our Mission
Our mission is simple but powerful: to inspire the next generation of Upstanders with the awareness, knowledge and confidence to reject discrimination – and to choose compassion and kindness instead.
Through our work, we empower people to recognise that every individual has the potential to make a positive difference in their everyday lives – and our Upstander Programs are designed to show them how.
Our work is grounded in history, but it speaks directly to the present. Whether it’s racism, bullying, antisemitism or exclusion of any kind, the issues we tackle are still with us, and our mission is to help individuals and communities respond with courage, compassion and confidence.
- Creating awareness of the dangers of bullying, racism and discrimination.
- Educating to challenge attitudes and behaviours.
- Demonstrating that every individual can make a difference.
- Transforming bystander behaviour into Upstander Confidence.
Operating across NSW, QLD and ACT, we deliver our Upstander Programs to schools, workplaces, and the broader public free of charge.
At the heart of these programs is the unique opportunity to meet and hear directly from a Holocaust Survivor – a remarkable person whose lived experience illuminates the enduring power of kindness, compassion, and what it truly means to stand up for what is right.
Through facilitating these experiences, we remind people that being an Upstander doesn’t always mean standing alone – and it doesn’t always involve great personal risk.
Our Upstander Programs emphasise that small acts of kindness and integrity ripple outward – and that every individual can play a role in building a more harmonious and inclusive society.
By carrying these lessons forward, we believe we can achieve our mission of Creating the Next Generation of Upstanders.
Since 1992, Courage to Care has delivered Upstander Programs to more than 400,000 students nationally.
Courage to Care Australia is a joint venture between Courage to Care NSW and Courage to Care Victoria.
C2C NSW operates in NSW, QLD and ACT, while C2C VIC operates in Victoria and WA. Despite operating independently, we collaborate frequently to maximise our impact and achieve our shared goal of creating a Generation of Upstanders.
Want to Help Create the Next Generation of Upstanders?
Book A Program
Bring our Upstander education to your school, workplace or community organisation.
Support The Mission
Learn about volunteering opportunities and the difference your donation can make.
Explore Our Impact
Watch our programs in action, view moving stories and learn about our current projects.
Make a Difference Today
Your support empowers Upstanders.
Each and every contribution enables us to reach more students, train more volunteers, and expand our impact in communities across Australia.
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