Financials

During the global pandemic we turned to meeting online via Zoom. We have continued to meet in this way and do so four times a year on the first Monday of each season.

 

We continue our strong relationship with the Allied Health team at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Oncology, where the vast majority of requests for family support come from. They are aware of our ability to respond to families’ bespoke needs as well as the broad range of support we offer. Importantly, they are also aware of the at times, limited funds to draw on and make requests with that in mind.

 

Relief from cost of parking at RCH, short-term stays at Larwill apartments, contributing to costs of wigs and funerals as well as covering household bills for families in crisis, have been just some of the supports we have provided families. As always, there is deep appreciation from families and hospital staff for what we do.

 

One of the major achievements for our foundation this year has been the establishment of the AbStar Youth Committee. An outstanding group of young people, they meet regularly online and have their first stand-alone event: Spring Market, Kensington Townhall, October 1.

 

The foundation’s quarterly newsletter is a great way of celebrating who we are what we strive to do for families. It is distributed to foundation family and friends, sponsors and supporters and to families we have supported over time.

 

We are grateful to the Howard Mitchell Foundation for a grant of $10000 and to the Freemason’s Foundation for $5000 all of which goes to families in need.

 

We continue to hold monthly Bunnings Sausage BBQs, which remain a major source of funds for the foundation each year. We are grateful to both Bunnings for the opportunity and Ralph’s Meat for the quality produce.

 

Our annual T20 Cricket match between Vic Police and the Abbey Allstars and Sunshine Height Cricket Club continues to go from strength to strength. We are so grateful to both organisations for your ongoing support and belief in what we do.

 

For the first time, we held a Trivia Night this year. It modelled the very spirit of our foundation, with family at the centre. We are grateful to the City of Melbourne for their grant to cover costs of hiring Kensington Townhall. We look forward to this becoming an annual event on our calendar.

 

We are grateful to Anna Meredith for an enormous amount of work developing our new foundation website. While we retain the existing domain, the new website more readily reflects the vision of the foundation, showcases our support and celebrates our achievements.

 

We continue to submit applications to grant makers to supplement our fundraising. It would be timely to seek major sponsors for our foundation beyond events and donations. While the relief from costs of parking that families receive with our parking vouchers is deeply appreciated, the overall costs of ongoing parking beyond our ability to help remains a burden for all families. Consideration should be given to seeking support for advocating to RCH admin on behalf of long-term families.

 

We should all be immensely proud of what we have achieved together over the last eight years. It is a significant achievement to continue to raise sufficient funds to continuously support families in need over that time. Our bespoke support of families, seeking to meet their immediate and diverse needs does not go unnoticed at RCH and has been spoken of highly amongst those who work in the field every day. We have a rightful place amongst the giants of NGOs and charities who all work tirelessly to make the lives of children and their families, that little bit better. Abbey would be proud.

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Gerard Broadfoot

President