Our brilliant Women in Media event may be over, but that isn’t about to stop us reliving the magic with a few extra profiles of our super winners. And in today’s extra bit of coverage, we’re getting to know the winner of the Community / Pro Bono category, Ali Krzyszton, the consumer strategist and sales trainer for Bauer Media.

To see the full list of winners click here.

In terms of pro bono work it’s clear Ali Krzyszton has made her mark in a big way. Ali is a woman who has single-handedly harnessed the power of a network of women’s media brands to provide hope and education to some of the most vulnerable members of the Australian community – the 43,000 kids in foster care.

Ali’s pro-bono work for the Pyjama Foundation has yielded some amazing results. She has delivered media exposure across Bauer channels valued at over $1.139 million in the past year, which has seen the foundation inundated with potential volunteers and foster care agencies wanting to work with them, as well as foster parents requesting their services.

Ali also helped double the number of new ‘Pyjama angels’ now active in the community to over 1000 in 2016.

Bauer’s exposure has seen this previously Brisbane-based charity explode onto the national stage, and throughout 2015/16, The Pyjama Foundation has extended its program to NSW and Victoria. The foundation’s annual Pyjama Day (22 July 2015) also saw 50 times the participation than it had in previous years, while 90 per cent of donations received attributed their discovery of the foundation to having “seen it in a magazine”.

Opportunity International Australia congratulated Ali Krzyszton on receiving the Women in Media Community/Pro Bono Award for her outstanding contributions to the Pyjama Foundation.

Opportunity International CEO, Robert Dunn, said, “I am delighted to congratulate Ali Krzyszton, whose award reflects her immense impact on the lives of so many children who live in foster care.

“Ali has spearheaded a fully integrated and highly impactful media plan and fundraising strategy for the Pyjama Foundation in her own time during the last few years. Her fundraising has provided new opportunities, hope and education to some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

“I would like to thank B&T for donating the entry fees for this award to Opportunity to enable us to give small loans to women living in poverty so they can start a small business, put food on the table and invest in their children’s education.”