It's #OK2SAYNO ...
Our nationally recognised hashtag is a super user-friendly reminder to bush event hosts & communities that, whether we choose to personally drink or not, when we cater for and include everyone (always) ... lives are saved and changed.
Since inception, we’ve been crystal clear that we do not, never have, and never will preach a message of prohibition. That isn't how we roll. Our message and work lies in being about mateship, respect, catering, inclusion and choice. It's that simple.
So... if you can enjoy a beer or two safely, onya! That’s your business. Our business lies in giving solutions for a historically fairly parochial space that’s never quite known what to do with those who might choose less or no booze. What we do is equip bush communities, businesses, committees (etc) with a decade of hard-won knowledge to show how simple it is to properly cater for, include, and respect everyone - not just the big drinkers.
If you're keen to help out, be part of the overdue cultural change we've pioneered - and do better in your own 'back yard' - then this page is for you. We know what works, and we can guide you or your committee on how to 'be' better hosts & caterers, or how, as an event-goer, you can ask for change - and which language to use (and which not to use!).
COMING SOON: our #OK2SAYNO Partnerships Package - launching in 2026.
How you can help, today.
WHY is it vital we're all part of making it #OK2SAYNO?
Harm from grog underpins so much of what we attempt (often, unsuccessfully) to address across rural Australia, from suicide prevention to isolation, natural disasters, depression, physical health decline, domestic violence, farm safety, and more - and yet SITC remains the only grassroots rural NFP truly tackling this challenge, front on, successfully.
And it absolutely is working. We want everybody to understand that when this (admittedly VERY tricky!) chat is tackled with the right language, tone, approach, and minus any judgment, these connected issues are quietly being resolved, too.
Often, it comes down to simply choosing to be the change... to be a better leader, social media influencer, employer, or publican (etc.) who acknowledges that we can so very easily normalise a mate’s choice to say no to alcohol.
So, if you're keen to be the change in your own backyard, community, business, conference, farm, pub, club, picnic, race day, committee, sporting fraternity (etc., etc.) and you would like to step up and help make sure everyone is always welcome, while keeping making profits AND helping us keep saving lives - well - we’d bloody love your help, or you simply can support our work here.
We'd absolutely love to invite you, your team, your organisation, your event, your family, and your mates to help share the #OK2SAYNO message.
If you're as busy as the rest of us, please feel welcome to simply click 'share' on our social media posts, videos, website, etc. We've already done the hard work - and we know what language to use that's effective and everyone gets around.
Or, go one better, and share your 'why' ...
If you feel passionate about what we do, and you have a little more time - share a link from our website, or grab some merchandise and share a photo, and pop it onto your own socials with your own words - and tag us. It can be as simple as: "We’re proud to get behind Sober in the Country and their #OK2SAYNO message, and we're going to make sure we cater better for and include all our mates, whether they're drinkers or non-drinkers.''
When planning a BBQ or an event, we strongly recommend you have all of these three tiers of catering for your guests:
- Your usual beer, wine, spirits, softdrinks (etc)
- A choice of ‘zero-alc’ beer, wine, and spirits, and:
- A couple of sugar-free, sophisticated sparkling options that do NOT replicate the taste, smell, etc., of alcohol.
Point 3 is super important - because for our mates who've battled addiction, drinks that replicate the taste and smell of alcohol can be triggering, and even lead to relapse. So if you have these 3 tiers covered, you will have seriously happy and safe guests!
And - guess what? Social drinkers who enjoy one or two and then wish they could switch to something that isn't water or super-sugary soft drink are ecstatic to find options beyond alcohol, also. When committees do this well and market their event properly, and well in advance, these drinks usually sell out.
How we speak about this stuff will win or lose a ‘new’ audience in seconds. We know what works and what doesn’t:
We hear ALL THE TIME from good-hearted humans (drinkers and non-drinkers alike) who want to help, and who'd love to see some basic choice around catering at their own local events, venues, pubs, clubs, etc. We also, sadly, hear all the time that there is almost always somebody who 'kicks back' - and, we acknowledge that whether that's in jest or not, we know it's real, and it can be a majorly off-putting bummer.
(On occasion, we hear stories of fierce resistance, bullying, and even a hard 'no' from those at the helm of a committee or devastatingly, at rural health or mental health events.)
What we can tell you is that often, the fiercest critics and/or naysayers are usually those (ironically) in need of help or support to cut back or quit alcohol... but, they simply aren't yet ready to recognise it, or don't know how to articulate their feelings. So, their knee-jerk reaction is anger or dismissal, driven by pure discomfort.
Please try not to take that resistance personally, and if you can, view it through a lens of compassion and understanding - and don't give up on 'being the change'.
What we also know is that the wrong approach, language, tone, and delivery will never work, which is why we ask you to always stay polite and on point, follow our lead, and avoid horrible stigmatising labels like 'alcoholic', etc.
Over the years, we've found that when we/you state our/your case plainly and politely, and let your local host know that, since bush communities are renowned for looking after each other, and that this is one of the simplest ways we can take action to do exactly that, there is often no problem!
Remember, most bush committees have literally never, ever even had the request to cater for anything beyond alcohol, so it’s a ‘tread lightly’ situation that needs a bit of care.
It can also be helpful to simply say something like: 'I support bush charity Sober in the Country's #OK2SAYNO message - and I believe that we can create awesome health outcomes and help them keep saving and changing lives by doing our own small part with better options around our own catering, whether we personally drink, or don't.''
And remember to keep coming back to the fact that we are not prohibitionists - and that, like us - you're not asking anybody to stop serving alcohol. You're just asking for social inclusion and choice, so everyone feels truly welcome. No reasonable person can refuse that.
Who can get around the #OK2SAYNO movement and message?
Literally, this is for ANYBODY keen to make life, health, and mental health in the bush better. Examples of this include:
- A local bush show committee planning their annual ball
- Your local campdraft crew running the bar
- The pub that wants to grow their business, meet demand, and to offer better options (while still making a profit) so everyone knows it’s a great place to gather, whether their patrons or locals drink, don’t drink, or sometimes drink…
- The station manager organising induction BBQ's
- The sporto President putting on presentation night
- The workplace that’s running a wellbeing event
- The committee behind a big agricultural conference
- The committee behind a small agricultural conference!
- The ag college doing a fundraiser
- The local legend who’s doing a personal challenge or planning a fundraiser for a good cause (like ours!) and wants to do it beautifully for all attending...
Honestly - this is a cause, conversation, and movement every single rural human can and should support if they're fair-dinkum about caring for their mates and communities.
A cheeky tip: change begins at the invitation!
It is so, so incredibly important that event hosts of any size or kind - from backyard BBQs to massive five-star conferences understand that true social inclusion and mateship begins long before anyone even arrives….
We’ve all seen countless invitations in the rural space for big events, fundraisers, etc., that revolve around alcohol.
When invitations are all about ‘free drinks on arrival’ or ‘all you can drink’ price packages - and include images of nothing but booze, well, that automatically excludes everyone who isn’t a big drinker. The irony here is that so many of these events are marketed as being all about connection and wellbeing … yet, some of our most vulnerable mates most in need of connection won’t go along, because they've been subtly (and perhaps unintentionally) excluded before kickoff.
When we do this as event hosts, we perpetuate being a very exclusive, parochial rural society that only values or rewards its big drinkers, despite loudly and publicly declaring to be progressive or all about mates.
It is actually incredibly easy to change this.
And we need to do better, collectively.
We can do this simply by switching the headline from being all about grog to being all about the connection.
For example: instead of headlining a men’s mental health gathering with an invitation that kicks off with ‘join us for free beers and a BBQ’ - just say ‘join us for a good yarn and a catch up with mates’ - then state on another line: ‘a range of drink options will be available for everyone, including sophisticated alc-free options.
That one small shift tells people they’re welcome before they even walk through the gate, and it sends a message that the event is about people, not what’s in their glass.
NEED MORE HELP?
If you'd like us to guide you through your event, just reach out to us via the contact form at the bottom of our website, and we can support you with flyer design, invite design (with precisely zero AI), and we can guide you with appropriate letters to committees, words, drinks, and more. We do this as a small fee-for-service and donation to the charity, which helps us keep doing what we do.
Some of our supporters:
A huge thanks, as always, to those who've helped be part of previous years and fundraisers!
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO NEXT?
