Berty Nghiem – Automotive Digital Content Strategist

Blog

  • #THEORANGEEFFECT 2021 – Self Injury Awareness Campaign

    #THEORANGEEFFECT 2021 – Self Injury Awareness Campaign

    Over the weekend I’ve taken a few moments of timeout to reflect on the past decade and one of my favourite Cars For Hope campaign’s – our annual Self Injury Awareness #theorangeeffect campaign which we’ve now run for 8 years straight.

    In the first week of launch we sent our orange stickers to every state and territory in Australia and to every continent on the globe (minus Antarctica).

    Across the month it was incredibly special for me to see communities rally together for our cause wearing orange tees, racecars turning orange and friends but also strangers gathering in parking lots to share their stories.

    This is a great article about a group in Perth that ran an event in honour of our campaign. I loved it because I think it captures a lot of what we’re all about. There are a few words from me too about our beginnings that perhaps you didn’t know about.

    Story: https://westernindependent.com.au/2021/04/24/car-cruise-for-a-cause/

  • 9 years of Cars For Hope

    9 years of Cars For Hope

    Today marks 9 years of Cars For Hope. There have been some remarkable things that have happened along this journey to drive the end of mental health stigma, but I’d like to share this story. This is me at 19 at a car meet on the rooftop of Fox Studios in Sydney with my friends Amy and Marija. In the distance I hear a man ask “So what’s the deal with this? What’s Cars For Hope?”

    As I turned around to answer his question a complete stranger had jumped in and started explaining our story to the man. He said we were a group of car guys raising awareness for depression, anxiety and suicide prevention throughout the car community. For those struggling, it’s a safe place to talk about their experiences.

    And I loved that he used the phrase ‘a safe place’ because that’s exactly what we’re all about. No matter how big or small your challenges were and despite what the world thinks or what your mind is saying about it, our message was and always will be, that they matter. More than ever we seem to have mental health at the forefront of our minds with the pandemic we’re currently living through. What I’ve noticed lately is how my friends speak to each other. They say things like “I knew you would understand” and “I just know I could tell you that and you’d be cool with it”.

    It really hit me because, there it is again, it’s that safe place.

    We didn’t invent hope or help or community, or the idea that every person has a story and every story matters, but it’s been incredibly humbling to see people respond to those ideas. It’s been so amazing to see those ideas begin to touch and move and change people.

    I can’t stress enough, that this charity organisation only exists and is only made possible thanks to all of the car clubs, partners, volunteers and the thousands of supporters across the globe that believe in our story.

    Our combined efforts will inspire life-saving conversations, challenge stigma and we will continue to connect people to the help that they need and deserve.

    If you’ve contributed in any way, shape or form to the Cars For Hope family. Please take a step back today and really soak it in. Because of you, we get to hear from those sitting across of a counsellor for the first time or someone in a desperate moment who picks up the phone to dial 13 11 14 for Lifeline Crisis Support. People literally choosing to stay alive. We’ve seen some incredible doors open, things that we could not even imagine.

    And I just wanted to say, thank you.

  • Happy Father’s Day

    Happy Father’s Day

    So today is the day we celebrate our dads. Today is the day we say “Happy Father’s Day”.

    My dad is a hero of mine. He is a teacher, a solider, a thinker. He showed me all of those. More importantly, he gave my brother and I the great gift of growing up in a home filled with love and laughter. We grew up in a home where we knew that we were loved, and we knew that our mother was loved, and I am certain now that there is no greater gift.

    Before the Cars For Hope charity existed, I travelled the east coast of Australia to meet people and learn more about depression and the affect it could have on families. I met an elderly man named Phil, he went on to share his story with me and then broke down crying on my shoulder. He had told me that he had lost his son to suicide. That moment has never left me.

    That’s a bit of my story – today is an easy reason to celebrate. But I am writing this because I know that not everyone has been so fortunate. I know that today is not an easy day for everyone. It’s strange the way days designed for giving can remind us what’s been taken. Some have little or nothing to celebrate. For others, it is simply a day that hurts, a day to mourn.

    If you follow Cars For Hope’s social media channels you might have seen this Father’s Day message we’ve been putting out there for the past week. And today I’d like to expand on that.

    For those of you with great dads, embrace this day. Tell him you love him. Give him a hug. For those of you without, know that we’re with you today. Hope exists for people in need of hope. Community is a real and possible thing, like family we choose. We’re all in this together.

  • Wear it Purple Day 2019

    Wear it Purple Day 2019

    Today is Wear it Purple Day – a day about celebrating and supporting LGBTQI people and challenging societal attitudes to help shape a better world for us all to live in.

    For anyone who feels ashamed and alone because of who you are. I want you guys to know if that’s you, don’t be ashamed, you have no reason to be ashamed of that, ever.

    A video was just played here at work, and in it Jess (who is pictured on my left) shared her story and experience with coming out, her everyday life and also work life.

    She’s one of the bravest human beings I know, a role model and someone I would want my future kids to look up to. What I love most about Jess is that she has big heart, she’s totally genuine and what you see is what you get.

    One of the most wonderful things in life is seeing people absolutely absorbed, and committed to deliver on something they really believe in, whether it’s to be a good father or to win at sport. And I’ve seen how excited Jess has been for today and that makes me even more excited for today.

    Let’s remember that people are the most important thing, the brightest surprises on the planet. Let’s remember that every single person has a story entirely unique and incredibly important but not everyone can see it. And what a privilege that we get to do our best to remind and invite people, to believe better things, to believe that it’s possible to change, and to be proud of who we are.

  • First look at Luddenham Raceway

    First look at Luddenham Raceway

    You know that feeling when you go to a new racetrack for the first time? That was today, had bucket loads of fun with the Circuit Club fam at Luddenham Raceway. If you haven’t seen what it looks like, here’s some on board footage from my Honda S2000…