Dear Santa - Life on the Streets
10 December 2013 at 10:55 am
Melbourne Not for Profit organisation Youth Projects has unveiled a confronting Christmas themed community service announcement (CSA) that shines a spotlight on the harsh living conditions of Melbourne’s disadvantaged and homeless.
Youth Projects says the Youtube video was created by a stellar pro bono team including Academy Award Winning cinematographer Russell Boyd and acclaimed Australian actor Max Cullen.
“The CSA shines a spotlight on the harsh living conditions of Melbourne’s disadvantaged and homeless, who find themselves living lives that are far removed from their childhood dreams,” Melanie Raymond from Youth Projects said.
“The CSA is confronting, but so is the reality of life for so many Melburnians who are doing it tough on our streets day in and day out. We wanted to depict an honest version of how life pans out for some of our clients, and how vastly different this is from the lives they would like to be living,” Raymond said.
“Hopefully the message resonates with the public and inspires compassion for Melbourne’s disadvantaged youth, and results in some donations to help Youth Projects continue our vital work in the CBD and outer suburbs.”
The Youth Projects CSA was developed by advertising agency Grown Ups, who produced their first ad for Youth Projects in 2012. The debut CSA went on to win second place out of 138 international entries in the Techsoup Digital Storytelling Challenge.
“Having been to Youth Projects two years ago…the ad is controversial and hard-hitting, but I think that’s what it needs to be for our message to get through,” Grant Booker from Grown Ups said.
Explaining why he chose to get involved in the project, actor Max Cullen, who plays Santa reading a child’s confronting Christmas letter said: “It’s a very worthwhile cause, the script is beautiful and the crew is the cream of the industry. Hopefully people watch the ad and are inspired to do something to help.”
“Youth Projects hopes the CSA will strike a chord with Melburnians and help generate some much-needed funding for the organisation’s health, outreach, employment, education and training services,” Melanie Raymond said.
The Youth Projects CSA can be viewed here.
