2026 - 100 Businesses for 100 Classrooms Initiative
Every young person deserves access to respectful relationships education.
At Darwin Youth Services, we spend our weeks in classrooms across the Northern Territory having conversations with young people about healthy relationships, consent, coercive control, respect and domestic, family and sexual violence prevention.
One thing we hear time and time again from schools is:
“We love these resources… we just don’t have the funding to purchase as many as we need.”
Schools are doing incredible work, but budgets are tight. We knew teachers wanted practical, engaging REAL, contextualised resources they could continue using long after we’d left the classroom. Resources that encouraged discussion, challenged unhealthy attitudes and helped young people build the skills to develop respectful relationships.
The need was there. The funding wasn’t.
Rather than accepting that reality, we asked ourselves a simple question.
What if businesses could become part of the solution? What if businesses right here in the Top End could help us get these resources into schools where they are most needed.
That question became the beginning of the 2026 – 100 Businesses for 100 Classrooms Initiative.
Our goal was simple: invite businesses, organisations, community groups and individuals to sponsor classroom resource packs so schools across the Northern Territory could receive them completely free of charge.
It was ambitious. If we’re honest, it also felt a little daunting.
Taking a leap of faith
Back in March 2026, before a single classroom had been sponsored, we sat down with Lara Simpson from ABC Radio Darwin to share our vision.
We had launched something that sounded almost impossible. We believed in the idea wholeheartedly, but we genuinely didn’t know whether anyone else would. But that one radio interview got the ball rolling, and within two weeks we had 40 classrooms sponsored.
A few days later, on International Women’s Day, we officially launched the initiative at the NT Business Women’s International Women’s Day Speaking Event.
Standing in front of business leaders from across the Territory, we shared our vision of making quality respectful relationships education accessible to more schools through community sponsorship.
Then we crossed our fingers.
The Territory got behind us
“Proudly developed in Darwin”
Every resource included in the classroom packs has been developed by Darwin Youth Services through years of delivering respectful relationships education in schools across metropolitan, regional and remote Northern Territory communities.
The activities have been refined through feedback from teachers, students and school wellbeing teams to ensure they’re practical, engaging and easy to use.
Every resource was proudly designed, produced and printed right here in Darwin by Colemans Printing, supporting local businesses while investing in prevention education across the Territory. And of course our programs are aligned to the Australian and NT curriculum, something that is crucial when developing resources that will be used in schools.
Schools Supported Through the Initiative
Throughout the campaign, it was incredible to watch the map of the Northern Territory slowly fill with schools. Every new classroom sponsored meant another pin on the map and another community where these conversations would continue long after we’d left.
Schools that received classroom packs through the initiative included:
- Katherine Primary School
- Driver Primary School
- Bakewell Primary School
- Tennant Creek High School
- Katherine High School
- Catherine Primary School
- Malak Primary School
- Moulden Park Primary School
- Nakara Primary School
- Wanguri Primary School
- Taminmin College
- Tiwi College
- Ludmilla Primary School
2026 Initiative at a Glance
Over $30,000 raised
More than 120 classrooms sponsored
More than 38 businesses supporting the initiative
19 Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly sponsoring classrooms
CatholicCare NT’s No More Campaign sponsoring 25 classrooms
Officially launched on International Women’s Day
Featured on ABC Radio Darwin with Lara Simpson and later with Katie Woolf
Concluded with the Pure Pilates Coolalinga community fundraiser on 21st June 2026.
A lasting impact
The initiative officially concluded on 21st June 2026 with a community fundraiser hosted by Pure Pilates Coolalinga, raising enough to sponsor another three classrooms. Although the campaign has now finished, its impact will continue for years to come.
The initiative officially concluded on 21st June 2026 with a community fundraiser hosted by Pure Pilates Coolalinga, raising enough to sponsor another three classrooms. Although the campaign has now finished, its impact will continue for years to come.
Every time a teacher pulls out Boundary Bingo, Picture This, Myths & Facts, or another Darwin Youth Services resource, another group of young people will have conversations about respect, consent and healthy relationships.
To every business, organisation, school, Member of Parliament and community member who believed in this vision—thank you.
You didn’t just sponsor a classroom.
You invested in young people.
You invested in prevention.
And together, you’ve helped create a safer future for thousands of young Territorians.
