We have delivered Upstander Programs to more than 175,000 students across Victoria.
It is only with the support of our wonderful community that we can truly make racism and discrimination a thing of the past.
As a registered not-for-profit organisation, B’nai B’rith Courage to Care Victoria began in 1992 as an initiative of B’nai B’rith, the global Jewish service organisation, with a small, humble exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Australia.
This static display originated as a joint initiative between the Jewish Museum of Australia, the Jewish Holocaust Centre and the Raoul Wallenberg Unit of B’nai B’rith Victoria.
Several years later, in 2000, we developed an educational program to accompany the exhibition and made it available at several locations across the state.
The education program was developed with the support of Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and the Victorian Department of Education. Since then, we have continued to refine and advance the Courage to Care education program.
In 2015, with the aid of our principal partner, Gandel Philanthropy, we refreshed our exhibition to make it more interactive. Shortly after, we made it ‘mobile’ – adding an in-school program to our educational offering.
In 2018, we launched our workplace Upstander Program, in response to an approach from Victoria Police to help them transform workplace culture.
Growing in reach year after year, we have now delivered Upstander Programs to more than 175,000 students.
We have delivered Upstander Programs to more than 175,000 students across Victoria.
It is only with the support of our wonderful community that we can truly make racism and discrimination a thing of the past.
“This exhibition is exceptional. It is full of life-changing concepts and you are courageous to share it with us.”
“Volunteering for Courage to Care is a worthy use of my time as it contributes to a better society.”
“When you don’t stand up or speak up, you are accepting that the situation is okay. I learnt no matter the issue you have to stand up to the mistreatment of others.”
“This two-hour workshop taught more to the students than we could get through in weeks at school!”
“Thank you Courage to Care for helping us young people understand what to do in situations like the ones Louis went though, what to do when someone needs help. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
“A wonderful PD – so impactful!”
“The biggest reward is when I see students understanding the message to to be Upstanders.”
“Enjoyed the session. Got a lot out of it. It wasn’t what I expected.”
“It sparked the realisation that we do have the responsibility to stand up and voice our concerns, to make a difference when we believe something unjust is occurring. Thank you for telling these important and inspirational stories. It was eye-opening for everybody.”
“Very moving, incredible impact. Makes me really consider and recognise how powerful these actions can be.”
“Very powerful! It was great for the students to hear REAL stories which were then linked to the Local Heroes, so the goal of making a difference is made achievable. It had a major impact on students to think about others and have the courage to stand up.”
“As a child of Holocaust survivors I feel strongly that through educating children about the consequences of discrimination we will be able to create a better and more embracing community.”
“It really impacted me, got me thinking about how easy it is for bad things to happen when you don’t do anything.”
“Very powerful, informative & brilliant in structure & organisation of content, and clearly got across the message of being an Upstander. Having the Holocaust Survivors share their stories made the session even more powerful in its message.”
“Useful and impactful suggestions that can be easily implemented.”