A sprinkle of Red Dust.....

I was very fortunate to participate in a Red Dust Role Model tour (www.reddust.org.au) in May 2007. A plane trip from Sydney to Ayers Rock and then a 4WD to the indigenous aboriginal community of Mutijulu... there are no words, nothing that can be said, that can capture this experience.

Here's some pictures.... and there are a thousand more.

Gloria's Head Shave - the Bill Walsh Cancer Research Institute

Gloria Best. She was indeed.

For about two and a half years, I worked in the same team as Gloria. It was my honour. She was my director's PA and at the time, I was managing the Vodafone Australia Foundation. We sat in our little corner but mind you, her devilish laughter, I'm sure, could be heard from all four corners of level 20.

Gloria wore a pink vest and would promptly ask to go out for coffee at 10 o'clock. As she didn't have any children of her own, she affectionately adopted me as her 'work daughter', always correcting my posture and warning me from good looking guys...

Gloria died in August 2007. Her 'recurring' cancer recurred again... and I still remember that day when I heard her take the phone call from Dr Bell. Having beaten cancer twice before, she cried (who wouldn't?) but by the end of the day, she was back on the phone leaving Dr Bell a message that she was ready to fight it again.

The next day Gloria approached me and asked whether I could help her with her fundraising idea. She wanted to shave all her hair off ('It's going to fall off anyway!" she exclaimed.) This was a magnificent gesture from a brave, brave woman.

Together we created 'Gloria's angel network' and in front of about 200 colleagues, Gloria's head was shaved. Along with a lolly jar count, raffle, 'best baldie in the building' competition and auction of one of Gloria's personal pieces of decoupage (which brought in $400 alone), she raised $7,155.10 for the Bill Walsh Cancer Research Institute for research into Peritonial cancer (the 'whispering cancer'). Her BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) was $5,000.

Importantly, this fundraiser and Gloria's condition raised awareness on the importance of all women taking a CA125 test.

The months that followed were filled with medical tests, needles and all things nasty. I accompanied Gloria a few times to the Royal North Shore Hospital, when was she receiving treatment, when she had to find out the results of tests. It was tough. When I went to visit her and realised she had been moved into palliative care, it was tougher. In the end, it still remains that speaking at Gloria's funeral has been one of the toughest thing I've had to do my life....

But Gloria's brave fight to the end remains fresh in my mind.

And I will leave you with Gloria's words, 'Don't forget to go and have a CA125'.

Detour - for a smile :)

There are those occasional moments in life when you can sit back and let out a contented sigh….

A long weekend has just passed in Sydney, Australia. I’ve had such a lovely, lovely weekend where I got to spend time with favourite people and do favourite things... (including kicking a soccer ball (wildly) about in a park).

For dinner, I’ve boiled some rice and made myself a fried egg. There’s some other stuff in the fridge but really, it’s enough.

Tonight I sit back and hum a little tune.

Have a listen… and smile with me please.

Happy Easter :)

A Trailwalk - Oxfam Australia

Team 325.

I still remember.

Physical torture for the ideal of a fairer world. Yes, I know it's crazy.

Once upon a time I was much against these gimmick-type events but I realised (the hard, stubborn way), sometimes it's what gets people to sit up and listen... and now I'm all for it.

A large part of my memory of 2006 is taken up with weekend walks into rough terrain, getting excited over Kathmandu sales, support crew jingles, cadbury raisin bars, coming up with all sorts of funny fundraisers (including a Trivia, a bowls day, a Eurovision dress up (organised and supported by my beloved legal colleagues, shout out of a special thank you to Lisa M!).

My inspiration for participating in the 2006 Oxfam Trailwalk was that in the year before, as a volunteer, I had registered a man who was blind, another with one leg on crutches, teams of grandmothers and grandfathers with bulging muscles.... these people I registered at the start of the 2005 event had all completed the walk.

There was no excuse. I had to do it.

In the end, Team 325 (a team comprised of 3 fit athletes and one tortoise (guess who?) raised $24,537 to go toward a vision to combat global poverty and injustice.

The picture above is of our supportive colleagues at registration.... I still remember their cheers :)

Oh and by the way, I had my own special moment out there on the trail... I got to walk next to Charlie, the blind man I had registered the year before. I walked with him and his team for a little while before having to go along my merry *cough* painful way to catch up with the rest of my team. It was an awesome feeling to be there standing next to him.

Elaine

Team 325 'In Hindsight'

Head of Cadbury Raisin Bars Committee (still)

A Vision for Uganda - World Vision

I'm gonna take you for a trip down memory lane for the next couple of blog entries....

In March 2006, I was part of a group of colleagues who organised a charity cricket tournament. It was on the back of the year of the Tsunami and this same group of colleagues had run a charity cricket torunament to raise funds for the Tsunami victims the year prior. In 2006, they were back, keen to raise for another cause.

I know nothing about cricket but facilitated this streak of enthusiasm. Sadly, the corporate sector's initial reaction was not so supportive. The cause we chose was World Vision's Pader Emergency Education Project. We wanted to raise funds to build a nurturing, supportive education centre for children who had been rescued from the Rebel Army in Pader, Northern Uganda. These children had been forced into child soldier and sex slave situations and needed a trusted place for them to heal prior to being returned to their home villages.

A worthy cause, I'm sure you'd agree. But it was not a high profile cause. It wasn't anything like the tragic Tsunami that had unexpectedly taken the lives of so many people in South East Asia on Boxing Day, 2004. We had a lot trouble getting corporates on board and for a corporate cricket tournament, obviously the support of the corporate sector was vital.

But in the end they came through - Vodafone (of course), Willoughby City Council, IBM, Hutchison and on Tuesday 14 March 2006, we held a bat for povery at the local Chatswood Oval.

And I still don't know anything about cricket.

I was persistent in my pursuit of holding the tournament for many reasons. Obviously, for those children in Pader, for causes which are real and exist but are virtually unknown.... When my colleague, in the early days of organisation, came up to me and told me he felt it was getting hard and that perhaps we should not proceed, I wanted to tell him, to reassure him, to show him, that determination can go a long, way... a way to war-torn Northern Uganda.

In the end we raised over $210,000. $50,000 builds one school. With over $200,000, World Vision can build three and over 1,500 displaced children in Uganda now have a safe learning environment.

Olivia's Lullaby

If you've visited my composing website, you will have come across Olivia's Lullaby. It is my personal dedication to Olivia and my first improvised piece on my piano.

It is 2 minutes and 13 seconds in length.

Touched by Olivia Foundation

Every second Tuesday night (or Thursday night) for the last two and a half years, I’ve been part of a very special group of people who sit around a dining table discussing fundraising strategies to achieve of a vision of happier and healthier children.

This is Touched by Olivia. It is the legacy of Olivia Perkins who tragically passed away at 8 months to a rare condition, lymphangioma in November 2006. Til today I still have the picture of John carrying his baby daughter’s casket down the aisle… I will always remember his words at the funeral, ‘If we knew the outcome of today, we would still go back and do it all over – a million times out of a million times.’

Being part of a small team that created and administers this Foundation remains one of the proudest, most meaningful achievements in my life.

The Touched by Olivia Foundation stands for all abilities playgrounds across Australia so that every child (regardless of their abilities) can enjoy a playground. This is every child’s right and this beautiful vision begins in Timbrell Park, Drummoyne. The Foundation also raises funds for life-saving equipment for the Sydney Children’s Hospital and creates strategic partnerships with other charities with a focus on young children.

Since our formation, we have successfully held 2 butterfly balls and 2 family fun fairs with the last fair having over 12,000 in attendance. There’s a ball coming up on 2 May (tickets still available, shout out for volunteers). I myself particularly look forward to the fair every year, a day all families can enjoy and we can let the locals know something special for Timbrell Park is on its way.

Everyone involved in the Foundation is a volunteer. There’s John and Justine (my friends and the parents of Olivia). There’s also Fleur, Phil, Patrick, Sonja and Bec. These names probably mean nothing to you but they are like family to me. A mix of ex-Vodafone colleagues, mothers of Justine’s mothers group and subject matter experts, we are a bit of a funny bunch…. And to date we’ve raised over half a million dollars for Olivia’s beautiful legacy.

Tonight I am a tired gurl but as I sat around the living room, like most Tuesday nights, I have to admit the feeling is still very special, the privilege to be there is still mine. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I am realistic. I recognize at some point I am going to have to revisit the growing list of charities I do volunteer work for but Touched by Olivia is one I know, one way or other, will be a lifetime commitment.

Oh… and I should mention we’ve actually very recently moved on from the dining table to the living room. It’s become second home.

Here’s also some pics from the ball launching the Foundation to its most recent event, the family fun fair of 2008.

It's 12.13am. I’m just finishing a draft of the volunteer plan against a revised running order…. and we’re still looking for volunteers so let me know if you’re free on the night of 2 May.

Good night, world.

Information & Cultural Exchange - Pt 2 The Kids are in the House

Sometimes pictures speak louder then words. Enjoy!



Very cool (and good looking) bunch, don’t you think?

… and yes, that’s me getting some freebie advice on GarageBand!

Information & Cultural Exchange - Pt 1

Information & Cultural Exchange. I’ve blogged about them earlier. Here.

Our Geeks Give Back program invited participants of their urban music program into the house and we spent an afternoon swapping stories of struggle and success, workshopping helpful social media tools and creating an online presence for these budding filmmakers and hip hop artists, playing wii, foozball and pool, eating sandwiches, chips and muffins. And they performed a freestyle rap session! Pictures to follow….

We hope they walked away with a bag of useful tools and knowledge that one can succeed under any circumstances. I know I was personally inspired by the journey of our VP, Commercial.

In a personal capacity, I have been working with MC Trey for about 3 years. I’ve been involved in (and honoured to be) shaping her urban music program and giving strategic advice on its mission, strategies, values and structures. Trey is an exciting individual to know, an ARIA award winning artist who commits herself to ICE’s urban music program whilst the roles as a musician and mother.

Over the years I’ve also gotten to know Lena, the CEO of ICE with a never-say-die attitude. About a year ago she invited me onto the board of ICE and it is an extremely privileged position to be in knowing your considerations and decisions can create positive opportunities for the disadvantaged communities in the greater Western suburbs of Sydney.

geeksgiveback

I work in a small internet company in The Rocks, Sydney. Though small, its vision is big and its initiatives are even bigger. It’s known as a kingdom where geeks run amuck with a mission to enrich people’s lives through innovation of the immense and powerful internet space. It is these same geeks who loudly and proudly proclaim that being so good looking makes them geeks rather than nerds. At the time I considered joining this company, I boldly made it a condition of employment that an in-house corporate philanthropy program be put in place as part of this kingdom…

And here we are…. I joined the company in July 2008 and by the end of that month, geeksgiveback was born.

Gives give back. That is our focus. It is our in-house corporate philanthropy program with its own mission of making the world a shinier, happier, geekier place.Donating a combination of funds and our subject matter expertise, geeksgiveback is committed to enriching the lives of local and global communities and through these initiatives, enriching the lives of the geeks themselves.

With a committee of passionate geeks, I have truly enjoyed the experience of taking the geeks on a journey of philanthropy. Together we have:

1. secured $50,000 for this financial year from the company to give back to the community through various charities
2. launched a matched giving program as a vehicle to support and champion the causes each geek in the company cares about
3. engaged in various fundraising activities initiated by staff and corporate partners
4. commenced a meaningful relationship with a major charity partner, providing funds, volunteers as well as subject matter expertise,
   
5. launched a greening strategy,and
6. launched a mentoring strategy based on our subject matter expertise.
   

Our upcoming plans include sharing and communicating our journey to the rest of the world (perhaps in the form of a wiki?) and looking at some smart fundraising opportunities using the internet and social media. Twitter raised $10,000 in 48 hours. ‘Why can’t we?’ she asks.

On a personal level, it has been most rewarding to witness the buzz of 'giving' grow in the company. I was once told that the idea of giving is something that usually comes with age - that most people will start to think about giving in their more mature years. It should come as no surprise that my company is filled with lots Gen Ys... and to this end, it has been most rewarding building a bridge to 'giving' for my colleagues.

You can read more about geeks giving back here and here's a picture of our wall......


The evolution of the wall is documented here :)

Foundations and Charities

For a long time now, I’ve been involved in the world of foundations and charities. Most people comment that it takes a person with a big heart to donate her time the way I do but I actually find this embarrassing because honestly, the reward rests with me. If you have ever volunteered or worked with a charity, you will know that having the opportunity to be part of this beautiful world is actually a privilege itself. It’s a privilege to be in a position where you can help. It’s a privilege to work with charities, learn their stories and in some way, even in the slightest, be part of something that makes a difference.

About 5 years ago, I was introduced to the world of corporate foundations – that part of a corporate which aims to have a direct influence on impacting change in communities - and in recent years, I have seen a surge in corporate foundations in Australia… Still, we are nowhere near our counterparts in the US and the UK where it is deeply engrained in their culture that a giving arm is established along with any reputable business :(

......

I am a champion of foundations. I believe having (employee/community) engagement initiatives and nurturing a meaningful relationship with charity partners will benefit both the charity and corporate/community sectors. So, whether it’s a corporate foundation or a private one, a foundation can be a vehicle that inspires – that can build the bridge between charities (the people who know how to help) and people who want to help (whether it’s a business, its employees, a community group, a family network). A foundation can serve as the missing link for people who want to help and not knowing where to start.

For me, working with foundations and charities is now an intrinsic part of me. Needless to say, we all have different hats to wear throughout our lifetime. I am, for instance, a daughter, a sister, a someone special, a friend, a colleague, a loyal customer who pays $1.10 for a bun at her local Chinese bakery every morning, 'miss'. But the hat I wear for my beloved foundations and charities will always be a favourite hat, a hat I wear proudly.

I’ve been asked to share some specific stories on the charities I’ve worked with. And I am very happy to do this :) Stay tuned.

Introducing a new family member... :)

She's very loved already :))))