A Mount Gambier teenager has taken a stand against bulling and has rallied the community to support her. Jaimee Smith was inspired to take part in “Do It For Dolly Day” in hopes of bringing the community together to celebrate kindness and take a stand against bullying.

Miss Smith, 15, was inspired to organise her own Do It For Dolly Day at Tenison Woods College after participating in a healthy lifestyles subject at school and discovering some of her peers did not know who Dolly Everette was. “I wanted to put mental health out there, so I went to the Head of School and organised it,” Miss Smith said. “The whole point of this day is just understanding what the words ‘mental health’ and ‘suicidal’ mean.

“Mental health awareness is so important especially in my age group because everyone is changing which is difficult. “It is about teaching individuals how they can help if they or someone they know needs extra support and who to contact.” Miss Smith said she received an overwhelming amount of support from the Head of School, leadership, peers and even outside of the school community.

“Everyone was so involved whether it was by wearing a light blue ribbon, donating, sending their congratulations or sharing my initiative on Facebook,” she said. “Thanks to everyone’s support I was able to raise just over $200.”

Miss Smith is no stranger to supporting mental health, as in the past she has participated in Ski For Life, beyondblue and organised a convoy from Mount Gambier to Heywood to raise money and awareness the cause. “This is not my first time supporting mental health, I have done multiple events like this before and I will definitely be doing this again,” Miss Smith said.