Melbourne brokerage McLardy McShane’s annual Reach Christmas Lunch has raised $80,000 to help disengaged young people.

About 550 people attended this year’s event at Melbourne’s Docklands, where the theme was “moving on”.

Speakers included former Melbourne footballer David Schwarz, who has fought a gambling addiction, and Trisha Silvers, a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people, including her husband Troy Broadbridge.

Reach teenagers spoke about the Ramp camp and mentoring program, with one saying it had given them “the first experience of being loved by someone who is not paid to do so”.

Attendees pledged $50,000 to support participation in the program. Steadfast, QBE and Sportscover sponsored the lunch.