Working Together to Create Healthier Illawarra Men

We are a notprofit organisation dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of men in the Illawarra region.

Our Mission

Our mission is to empower men to make positive choices for their physical and mental health, and to provide them with the resources and support necessary to lead healthier lives.

Our charter is to:

  1. Raise awareness of men’s health issues, including mental health, and to encourage men to be more proactive regarding their own health.
  2. Raise awareness of appropriate behaviours to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence.

Our Events

Healthier Illawarra Men convened in 2020 to institute a major event in the Illawarra calendar - bringing men’s health issues to the fore.

We conduct an annual event to coincide with International Men's Day each year with the funds raised reinvested in local men's health initiatives throughout the Illawarra region.

All the funds we raise stay in the Illawarra region.

Gotcha4Life Mateship Miles Brunch

Community Engagement

We believe that community engagement is essential in creating a healthier Illawarra. Through partnerships with local organisations and active involvement in community events, we aim to inspire men to take charge of their health.

Fundraising support

The funds we have raised through our events are channelled back into charitable causes and organisations which are making a difference to men's health in the Illawarra. Already we've provided funds to organisations including Gotcha4Life, the Barstool Brothers, Escabags, the Top Blokes Foundation and the Illawarra Koori Men's Health Group.

Get Involved

Join us in our mission to build a healthier community. Whether you want to volunteer, participate in our programs, or simply spread the word, there are many ways to get involved. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of men in the Illawarra region.

Our Board Members

  • Mark Sleigh (chair)
  • Toby Dawson (deputy chair)
  • Chris Smith (treasurer)
  • Julian O'Brien (secretary)
  • Mark McDonald (director)
  • Sean O'Shannassy (director)
  • Stuart Barnes (director)
  • Craig Morris (director)
  • Todd Hopwood (director)
  • Graeme Sutherland (director)
  • Grant Plecas (director)
  • Matt George (director
  • Kent Robson (director
  • Al Davis (director)
  • Jaydn Clarke (director)
  • Ashleigh Dowell (director)
  • Mark Upton (director)

Our HIM history

Australian men are notoriously reluctant to be pro-active about their own health – sometimes with fatal consequences.

Unlike our female counterparts, we typically ignore symptoms, refuse to talk about health issues, and only visit a doctor when we’re at death’s door. In 2009, a group of concerned business and community leaders in the Illawarra, came together to form a committee aptly named Healthier Illawarra Men (HIM).

The purpose of the HIM Committee is to raise awareness of men’s health issues and to encourage men to be more proactive regarding their own health. It is also to arrange events that: • increase the general community’s awareness of men’s health issues, and • provide a tangible outcome in relation to men being proactive about their own health.

The Committee reconvened in 2021 to build on what has been achieved in the past and to institute a major event in the Illawarra calendar - once again bringing men’s health to the fore. In April 2022 working with the WIN and Nine Network’s Today show, HIM produced the Gotcha4Life fundraising brunch with Karl Stefanovic and Gus Worland raising over $35,000 for Gotcha4Life programs in the Illawarra.

The HIM Committee work continued in 2022 with the International Men’s Day lunch on November with UFC world champion Alex Volkanokski which raised  $50,000  in funds, distributed through a number of local charity initiatives you can view on our charity partners page here.

OUR 2023 INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY EVENT AND MESSAGE
(Mark Sleigh – Chair, Healthier Illawarra Men)
The great Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value”. As today is International Men's Day, it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on those words.
Many of us are driven by success in whatever form that looks like, but perhaps the better measure of a man is the value they return to their family, friends, workplace and community. Fostering men and boys of better value is essentially what we are trying to achieve through Healthier Illawarra Men.
Our mission at HIM is to empower men to make positive choices for their physical and mental health, and to provide them with the resources and support necessary to lead healthier lives.
Our charter is to:
1. Raise awareness of men’s health issues, including mental health, and to encourage men to be more proactive regarding their own health.
2. Raise awareness of appropriate behaviours to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence.
The funds we raise are reinvested back into programs in the Illawarra that directly and proactively assist our charter.
We were delighted to announce on Friday that Escabags - Escape Bags, The Man Walk, Raising The Bar Foundation, What Were You Wearing?, Lifeline South Coast, Top Blokes Foundation and Gawura Aboriginal Corporation IKMSG were selected as our charity recipients from our #IMD2023 lunch.
The Australian theme for IMD 2023 is “Healthy Men, Healthy World”.
At Healthier Illawarra Men we are working together to foster better men of value and therefore a better community for the Illawarra.