Bond University student Nicole Gibson has been awarded a 2012 Gold Coast City Council Youth Achievement Award for her charity work with The Rogue & Rouge Foundation.
Nicole established The Rogue & Rouge Foundation in April 2011 with the help of a $5,000 Sunsuper Dreams grant to provide financial assistance to youth recovering from mental illnesses associated with poor body image and low self-esteem.
As a result of the Foundation’s good work, earlier this year she was named a 2012 Young Social Pioneer.
Her dream is that every teenager looks in the mirror and smiles.
It’s this dream for a better future that will also see her star in a Channel 7 documentary as one of three Sunsuper Dream Winners, with filming to take place on the Gold Coast next week.
For the 19-year-old Bachelor of Communications (Business) student, it’s another step towards achieving her mission of raising awareness of mental health and unhealthy body image affecting young men and women around Australia.
“I want to help the youth of Australia see beauty differently,” said Nicole.
“Through The Rogue & Rouge Foundation, I also want to help relieve the financial burden that goes hand-in-hand with treating mental illness,” she said.
“By taking away financial pressures, we can allow families to completely support the sufferer emotionally and mentally.
“Studies have shown that family members can be a primary resource in recovery if they are assisted to cope during the crisis, to deal with the effects of the eating disorder, and to practice supportive parenting approaches.
“Currently, there is nowhere in Queensland that acts as a safe house for young people recovering from eating disorders.
“My next goal with the Foundation is to raise more than $100,000 for a deposit for a rehabilitation centre here on the Gold Coast, to support young people and their families in the recovery process,” said Nicole.
Nicole will feature in the Channel 7 Documentary “Sunsuper’s Dreams for a Better World”, to air on Sunday evening, December 23.