What is it about red frogs that opens doors and breaks the ice like nothing else? Even Andy Gourley is unsure - all he knows is that the lollies work.
Gourley is the founder of , a not-for-profit organisation that helps young people cope with high-pressure social environments like , university orientation and even sporting events, where drinking and drugs are rife. He started the group back in 1997, when he happened to visit Queensland at the same time as Schoolies and noticed that there was an awful lot of kids getting drunk and using drugs, and nobody taking care of them. “I was staying at a hotel with about 700 kids,” he says, “and I said to the hotel management, ‘Do you want a hand with these kids?’” The answer, of course, was yes.
He gathered 17 volunteers to help him and set about keeping an eye on partygoers. “We would go and look for kids in trouble - passed out on the beach, in vulnerable positions and so on. The idea was to keep them safe, keep them out of harm’s way,” he says. But though Gourley was happy to help, many of the people he wanted to assist weren’t so sure. “A lot of kids were stand-offish and didn’t want to chat with us,” he says.
The Red Frogs Australia organisation uses the much-loved lolly to connect with Schoolies attendees. Source: Allen's
The game-changer was a packet of Allen’s Red Frogs, bought from a convenience store down the road. “We took a big packet of them with us into a party, and absolutely got mugged,” he says. “From that moment on, we took them everywhere.” That year alone, Gourley and his volunteers handed out 80 kilos of the lollies. Now - 20 years later - the Red Frog Network gives out 24 tonnes of red frogs at Schoolies and student events all across the country. If you counted them all up, Gourley says, you’d have about five million red frogs.
Now the largest harm-prevention program in Australia for both Schoolies and universities, support for the Red Frogs comes from , who donates all 24 tonnes of the lollies used (eight tonnes are given away just at Schoolies alone). Those 24 tonnes represent 5 per cent of Allen’s entire output of large red frogs for the year, says Nestlé spokesperson Margaret Stuart, who spoke to me from the Gold Coast, where Schoolies is currently underway. “We’re big supporters of Andy and his work,” she says. “It’s a huge commitment for us, but it’s also a no-brainer. Helping kids stay safe is really important.”
Andy Gourley offered to help a hotel with an influx of kids staying for Schoolies - and Red Frogs Australia was born. Source: Allen's
The group was originally called Hotel Chaplaincy, but it was quickly replaced by Red Frogs. “All the kids were calling us ‘the Froggers'. And it just stuck.”
Gourley comes from a church background, but Red Frogs isn’t about teaching abstinence of any sort. “We live in Australia,” says Gourley. “Aussies like to drink. We’re not anti-drinking, we’re just anti-ending-up-in-hospital.” The Red Frog volunteers encourage drinkers to have one sober person in their group, to never hesitate to call 000 if a mate is ill due to drinking or drug use, and they also educate students about other services (like mental health hotlines) they might not be aware of.
Over the years, the organisation has given away five million red frogs. Source: Allen's
We took a big packet of them with us into a party, and absolutely got mugged.
The volunteers - fondly known as Froggies - are the heart of the program, Gourley says modestly. “I think of our Froggies as the fence before the cliff,” he says. “The ambulance and the police are at the bottom of that cliff, so we make sure the fence is as strong as possible.” Most of the 1500 volunteers are aged 18-25 themselves, which makes it easier for them to chat with the young people they’re trying to help, says Gourley. “And really,” says Gourley, “it’s about being there, on the ground. There’ve been so many times when having a volunteer walk into a party or onto a beach has literally saved someone’s life. We see someone who’s passed out, or vomiting, and we call for help immediately.” Many times, says Gourley, the medics who respond say that the person was mere minutes away from critical danger.
“This Schoolies has definitely been one of the healthier ones,” says Gourley, adding that there’s a change in the air when it comes to drinking. There are a lot more kids drinking less - or not at all, says Gourley. Even better, the students are better at looking after each other. “Twenty years ago, you’d have kids leaving their mates on the beach, passed out, and wouldn’t think anything of it,” he says. “Now, they’re sitting with their mates, making sure they’re OK and calling for help if they need it.”
Allen's donates 24 tonnes of red frogs to this non-profit group every year - equivalent to 5 per cent of Allen’s annual production of large red frogs. Source: Allen's
Over the past two years, the program has expanded beyond even Gourley’s imagination. “We’re in nine countries now, as well as 17 locations in Australia. We help 70,000 Schoolies students and and 50,000 high school kids over the rest of the year.” There’s a Red Frog Hotline, too, that runs during Schoolies week, and even an where you can request a volunteer to walk you home or bring you pancakes.
“We make about 100,000 pancakes during Schoolies,” says Gourley. “We call it ‘Random Acts of Pancakes'. It puts a bit of food in them before they go drinking, and it gives us a chance to have a chat with them and see if there’s anyone who’s not coping too well.” As well as all this, the group is now taking on music festivals and sporting events, handing out water and sunscreen, helping those in need and of course, offering a red frog or two.
“I’ve never quite figured out what they love about them so much,” says Gourley. “But I’ve never seen anything like it. They just love the frogs. We tried other lollies back in the day, but nothing made an impact like the red frogs. It just worked.”
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