Community support & participation

Brisbane Lions FC

In partnership with the Brisbane Lions, Bupa has created an innovative program aimed at boosting the fundraising efforts of local charities and community groups, as well as encouraging school students to keep healthy and active.

The Bupa Schools Assist Program allows children from more than 150 Queensland primary and secondary schools to become active through sports clinics and by providing them with sporting equipment donations and tickets to Brisbane Lions matches at the Gabba. This gives Queensland children the opportunity of a lifetime - to be coached by, and have a kick with, some of their favourite Lions AFL stars.

Importantly, Bupa is working in partnership with the Brisbane Lions to engage with the entire community through practical ways that will have lasting benefits.

Australia Cricket team

Bupa is a leading Australian healthcare group and is excited to be the official health partner of Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricket Team. We’re also proud to support the country’s premier four-day competition, now named the Bupa Sheffield Shield.

As the Australian cricket team’s preferred health insurance provider, Bupa’s role includes providing their medical and coaching team with access to healthcare expertise from around the globe. The partnership is helping Australia to be in the best of health to regain its position as the number one cricket team in the world.

With over three million Australian members Bupa is well placed to support the team’s healthcare requirements. Importantly, Bupa is part of a wider healthcare group that operates in 190 countries around the globe, which will ensure the wider playing and coaching group can access leading healthcare advice regardless of where the team is playing.

Emirates Western Force

Bupa's partnership with Emirates Western Force began in 2005 and continues to inspire West Australians to lead active and healthy lifestyles.

As an inaugural sponsor of the Western Force team, this partnership has been an important component of Bupa’s commitment to the community.

Since early 2010, Bupa and the Western Force team have taken rugby sports clinics and healthy lifestyle tips into the community. The Bupa Force Express Program focuses on the promotion of physical activity, good nutrition and positive choices among the young. Participating school children receive an activity book from Bupa and Western Force with tips for making healthy lifestyle choices.

Bupa is also creating once in a lifetime opportunities by giving participants in its Bupa Mascots community program the chance to run onto the field with the Western Force players at Super Rugby games.

Through these Programs, Bupa is inspiring the future generation of Australia's rugby stars.

Hawthorn FC

Bupa is proud to continue a 20 year plus tradition supporting the community with the Hawthorn Football Club. Hawthorn Football Club.

In Tasmania, Bupa and the Hawks have launched a joint initiative aimed at encouraging school children to lead healthy and active lifestyles through a travelling roadshow called Bupa Hawks Express. The roadshow visits schools, festivals and community centres encouraging Tasmanians to get active through footy clinics.

The Tassie Hawks in Schools Program is a joint initiative between the Hawthorn Football Club, Tasmanian Government and Bupa through which every primary school across Tasmania has received a free sports pack that aims to encourage all Tasmanian school children to have fun being active. In addition, all grade four students received a Hawks and Bupa activity booklet . Developed in conjunction with the Tasmanian Department of Education and Bupa, the booklets provide kids with fun and engaging tips about making healthy lifestyle choices.

The 2012 Santos Tour Down Under

In January 2012, Bupa will be marking its 10th year as a major sponsor of Santos Tour Down Under (TDU), South Australia’s premier cycling event.

This week long festival of entertainment is enjoyed by over 782,000 fans and showcases some of the world’s best cycling teams. As major sponsor, Bupa has naming rights to the “Bupa Challenge Tour”, a ride which encourages all people to get involved in this event and do something healthy and active. This iconic event is a natural fit given Bupa’s ongoing commitment to support local events and promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

The Bupa Challenge Tour is the official recreational ride of the Santos Tour Down Under. On Friday 20 January 2012 more than 8,000 cyclists will take to the roads around Adelaide in the Bupa Challenge Tour at the 2012 Santos Tour Down Under.

As part of our commitment to the health and wellbeing of our people, we encourage you to get involved in this event. Start locations and start times:

• 138km - Norwood, 6:30am, Norwood Town Hall, Norwood
• 102km - Gumeracha, 7:00am, Gumeracha Oval, Gumeracha
• 79km - Mt Pleasant, 7:30am, Mt Pleasant Oval, Mt Pleasant
• 33km - Tanunda, 9:00am, Tanunda Oval, Tanunda

For more information visit the Tour Down Under website

View or download the Stage 4 map

Bupa Around the Bay

We are proud to continue our partnership with Bupa Around the Bay for the third consecutive year – an iconic event that shares our vision of encouraging healthy and sustainable lifestyles.

Celebrating its 20th year on Sunday 21 October 2012, the event has firmly established itself as Australia’s premier mass participation one-day ride. Last year it attracted over 16,000 participants from around Australia.

With five ride distances to choose from, it allows people of all levels of fitness to get active and lead a healthy lifestyle, while also fundraising for The Smith Family and aiding Australian’s in need.

For more information visit Bupa Around the Bay

Life Education

Bupa is supporting youth health and drug education programs by partnering with non-profit organisation Life Education.

Life Education provides health education that supports and strengthens primary and secondary school drug and health initiatives. The program equips students with knowledge, values, attitudes and social skills to enable them to make informed health and lifestyle choices. Each year 610,000 children in 3,200 schools across Australia participate in Life Education programs delivered by 120 trained educators in over 100 mobile and static classrooms.

Bupa has partnered with Life Education on two initiatives:

• All Systems Go – A futuristic hands on teaching module for primary school classes that takes kids on a dramatic animated journey of discovery through the human body via the blood stream, while teaching positive health and lifestyle choices to keep the internal body systems strong and healthy.
• The Bupa Family Challenge supporting Healthy Harold – A seven day challenge that encourages families to improve their fitness, diet and nutrition, and spend more time together through tackling tasks such as limiting TV to 30 minutes a day, switching fruit juice and fizzy drinks with water, building a veggie patch or going on a family walk. www.bupafamilychallenge.com.au

Can Too

Can Too is a non-profit program that matches fitness goals with a good cause. Novices and experienced athletes alike are given professional coaching as part of a team to participate in community-based endurance running and swimming events. In return, participants raise valuable funds that go directly towards funding cancer researchers through Cure Cancer Australia. Since its conception in 2005 Can Too has raised almost $10 million dollars.

Bupa is thrilled to partner with Can Too as not only does it raise funds towards Bupa’s charity partner, Cure Cancer, but it also encourages Australians to get active in a fun, safe and supported environment. www.cantoo.org.au

Bupa Walk to Work Day

Now in its 14th year, Bupa Walk to Work Day, on Friday 28 September 2012, is an annual event which helps employers and employees to build regular walking into their daily routine.

As part of our ongoing commitment to a healthier community, Bupa is proud to be supporting the 2012 Bupa Walk to Work Day, and encouraging all Australians to take positive steps towards improving their health and wellbeing. www.walk.com.au/wtw/

Bupa Heroes

In our fifth consecutive year proudly supporting the Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon Series, Bupa has in 2012 teamed up with Special Olympics Australia to create the Bupa Heroes program. This program is designed to support and fund 100 children with an intellectual disability to participate in the popular TRYathlon series along with thousands of other Aussie kids.

The Bupa Heroes program funds the child’s participation in the TRYathlon and provides the support needed for the child to take part. This support is individually assessed and may range from a carer working with a child to help them complete the course, to providing stationary bikes for the cycling component of the event.

www.tryathlon.weetbix.com.au/

Very Special Kids

Very Special Kids provide volunteer support, counselling, bereavement support, parent activities and family camps to families who are caring for a child who has a life-threatening illness or whose child has died from such an illness.

For the last eight years Bupa has sponsored the Piggy Bank Appeal, the annual Victorian fundraising initiative for Very Special Kids, raising over $800k. Through the Piggy Bank Appeal, Very Special Kids is able to run the Very Special Kids House, Australia’s first hospice for children.