Organisations we support

FEATURE ORGANISATIONS

• Butterfly Foundation
• Family Life
• Mackillop Family Services
• Nutrition Australia Victoria Div.
• Sunrise Foundation
• Victorian Arabic Social Services Anti-Racist Action Band

Butterfly Foundation

The Butterfly Foundation was founded in August 2002 by Claire Vickery, a mother of two daughters who have suffered from eating disorders. A six year journey of seeking appropriate treatment options for her daughters uncovered a system of health provision for eating disorders desperately in need of systemic change. After experiencing the bad practices, falling between the many gaps in the system and experiencing first hand the negative stigma and lack of understanding the community holds for eating disorders, Claire formed The Butterfly Foundation.

The Foundation provides support for Australians who suffer from eating disorders and their carers through direct financial relief, increasing understanding and awareness in the community through the support of existing services, education and research projects and advocating for increased recognition of the desperate needs of sufferers and carers at community and government levels. The Butterfly Foundation also aims to promote positive body image and self esteem, especially to young people, and to encourage hope and help seeking through education and awareness.

Bennelong Foundation has provided funding for the employment of a Body Image and Health Promotion Project Officer which will enable Butterfly Foundation to expand its presence in Primary and Secondary Schools with education on building resilience, boosting self esteem and reducing negative body image. This work is vital in order to support young people who may be at risk of physical or mental illness as a result of poor body image and low self esteem.

http://www.thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

Family Life - YouthWorx - Growth for Sustainability

Family Life’s YouthWorx programme provides at-risk 16-19 year olds with structured job-readiness training, work experience, personal support and a pathway to employment and community participation.

Situated in a thriving, up-market Opportunity Shop at 316 Charman Road, Cheltenham in Victoria, the YouthWorx program is made possible thanks to the dedication of caring Volunteers who mentor and coach the young people and assist with running the business. The programme commenced in 2003 and, to date has assisted 90 vulnerable young people to develop improved self confidence and work- readiness skills.

“Thank you to the people at YouthWorx – thank you for believing in me and showing me that I can fulfil my dreams.” Quote from a participant who is now studying to be a beauty therapist.

Thanks to the support of the Bennelong Foundation, Family Life is set to achieve its goals of assisting an additional 40 young people and operating a financially sustainable Social Enterprise, by 2009.

http://www.southernfamilylife.org.au

Mackillop Family Services - Vietnamese Parent Support Group

Vietnamese Parent Support Group within the Parent to Parent Western Network Program is for families who have a child with a disability.

The main objective of this group has been to lessen community isolation within the Vietnamese community and the larger community as there is a perceived stigma towards anyone who has a disability.

This network offers support to families in the western suburbs who have a child with a disability. Parent to Parent links families to relevant families; assist parents run support groups, works with parents to organise social groups; support self advocacy and is involved in advocacy to make the service system more responsive to the needs of Vietnamese families.

The Parent Support Program is the only group of this nature in the western suburbs.

http://www.mackillop.org.au

Nutrition Australia Victoria Div. - Healthy Eating Schools programme

Nutrition Australia is a non-profit, non-government, national community education organisation. Our mission is to promote the heath and wellbeing of all Victorians via a multidisciplinary approach to nutrition education of the community in order to minimise the social and economic impact of nutrition related diseases.

With the generous support of the Bennelong Foundation, Nutrition Australia Victorian Division has been working with Victorian primary schools to implement the Healthy Eating Schools programme. This programme is based on the Health Promoting Schools model: Children, Teachers and the Classroom; School Environment and Food Service; and Family and Community. Schools are provided resources, “hands-on” nutrition workshops and phone or e-mail assistance from Nutrition Australia with the main focus being to assist and support schools in developing and implementing a nutrition Action Plan/Policy.

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/about_us/offices/vic.asp

Sunrise Foundation - Head Smart

The Sunrise Foundation has partnered with ORYGEN Youth Health, ORYGEN Research and the University of Melbourne to design, develop and deliver the first of its Head Smart programmes.

Head Smart is a three year preventative education programme addressing depression, which is being delivered to every year ten student at Melbourne High School in 2007, 2008 and 2009. More than one thousand students will receive the programme during this period.

The purpose built Head Smart programme is an interactive programme designed in partnership with ORYGEN Youth Health which aims to engage, educate and empower young people on the issue of depression.

An important component of the programme is a screening tool, which identifies students at risk of depression, self harm or suicidal ideation. As a direct result of this screening process in 2007, 19 students who had not previously sought help were identified as being at risk and are now receiving on going support.

In addition, ORYGEN Research and the University of Melbourne are conducting independent research over the course of the three year programme.

http://www.sunrisefoundation.org.au

Victorian Arabic Social Services Anti-Racist Action Band Project

Victorian Arabic Social Services were successful in obtaining a grant for the Anti Racism Action Band project. The Board and staff of Bennelong Group were treated to a performance by a small group of young people involved in the project which consisted of rap, hip hop, beat box and Derbakki drums.

The project will establish an ongoing performing arts programme for youth in schools and regions affected by gang culture, racism and low self-esteem. The objective is to build an awareness of these issues by using the performing arts and by encouraging youth to jump in and explore “what it is” and “what it takes” to come together and make a show for and about the issues real and important to them. Bennelong Foundation’s mission is “To enhance community wellbeing and provide opportunities for positive and lasting change through partnering pro-active social ventures” and the A.R.A.B. project encompasses this completely. We are proud to be a part of this important project.

http://www.vass.org.au

ALL OTHER ORGANISATIONS

NAME	WEBSITE LINK	PROJECT NAME	PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Alfred Foundation	www.alfred.org.au/	Thoratec TLC 2 Portable Driver (past) Heart Lung transplant education videos (past) Heart lung transplant in-vitro testing of anti rejection drugs (past) Tissue culture Laboratory for the Burns Unit (current)	This is a life-saving piece of equipment for patients awaiting transplant before a suitable donor is found. Videos upgraded and copied. Medical research into developing in-vitro testing of anti-rejection drugs in lung transplantation. A grant was provided to assist in appointing a senior post-doctoral research scientist who will ensure that quality clinical research is central to the future work of the laboratory.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre	www.asrc.org.au/	Casework Project Officer (current)	Coordinate the volunteer casework project to ensure the vital essential needs of vulnerable asylum seekers are met.
Aurora School for deaf and blind children/Carronbank	www.auroraschool.vic.edu.au/	Small grants programme	We have provided various small grants over the years for general school projects such as 4 wheeler bicycles and improving the sensory garden.
Austin Hospital	www.austin.org.au/	Cardiac Mapping Machine (past)	A grant provided to purchase a state of the art cardiac mapping machine to aid in the development of new techniques and medical research.
Baker Heart Research Institute	www.baker.edu.au/	Medical research project by Dr Barbora de Courten (past)	To investigate if there is a relationship between physical activity, fitness, chronic low-grade activation of the immune system and insulin sensitivity in healthy individuals and examine if those subjects we are exercising on a regular basis and are fitter, increase their inflammatory markers during exercise less than those subjects who lead a sedentary lifestyle and are less fit.
Big Brothers Big Sisters	www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.au/	Volunteer Programme (current)	We have provided funding to enable BBBS to address the large numbers of people who have formally applied to be volunteer mentors but continue to wait long periods due to limited staff resources.
Brotherhood of St Laurence	www.bsl.org.au/	Homework Centre (past)	A grant was provided to help develop the Homework Centre which operates in Fitzroy. This programme is available four afternoons/evenings each week and is designed to help disadvantaged secondary students.
Centre for Eye Research	www.cera.org.au/	Trachoma related research project (past)	To find a reliable and readily accessible, affordable and low technology method of diagnosing trachoma in remote Aboriginal communities where specialist ophthalmic care and traditional diagnosis are not available.
Cherish the Children	www.cherishthechildren.com.au/	Get Active Sports Programme (past)	Funds were provided for the erection of a tennis/basketball court at the Glendyne Education and Training Centre.
Cottage by the Sea	www.cottagebythesea.com.au/	Aquatic Holiday Camp (past)	Provides a high quality care programme for children who are in distress and may also suffer emotional, physical or social deprivation.
Diabetes Australia Research Trust	www.dav.org.au/	Medical research project by Dr Nora Straznicky (past) Medical research project by Dr Martha Lappas (past)	Effects of dietary weight loss and aerobic exercise on sympathetic nervous system activity, insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk in metabolic syndrome patients with central obesity. The effect of gestational diabetes mellitus on the protein profile of human placenta, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
Deal Communications	www.deal.org.au/	Therapy Programme (past)	Provided two grants to assist with therapy of children without functional speech.
Emerald Hill	www.emeraldhillmission.org.au/	Education Programme (past) Food Bus (past)	Offered assistance to secondary school students with the aim of helping them remain in the education system. Funds were provided to assist with the purchase of a new food bus.
Fragile X Alliance	www.fragilex.com.au/	Medical research project (past)	A grant to conduct research into attitudes towards offering carrier testing for Fragile X Syndrome in the community. This research is required as a precursor to obtaining funding from the NHMRC to enable genetic testing to be carried out.
Foundation for Regional and Rural Research	www.frrr.org.au/	Back to School Programme (current)	FRRR established that the most stressful financial period for disadvantaged families was equipping children for the start of the school year. This programme provides vouchers redeemable for items such as school uniforms, school bags, stationery, etc.
Ganbina	www.ganbina.com.au/	Jobs4U2 (current)	This project is based in Shepparton and addresses the earlier than average school drop-out rates of indigenous youth. The programme also aims to equalise an educational achievement, enable greater participation of indigenous young people in work, as well as provide indigenous youth with the confidence that work or further training is a real possibility for them.
Gutsy Group	www.thegutsygroup.com.au/	Medical research project	Research to collect accurate, prospective information about the economic impact that Crohn’s disease exerts on individuals with this condition.
Harrow Bush Nursing		Medical equipment (past)	A grant was provided to purchase medical equipment to assist in the prevention and treatment of all health issues confronted by the rural community.
Interplast	www.interplast.com.au/	Bangladesh Project (past)	The objective of this project is to improve the health and quality of life of deformed men, women and children by providing surgical services and developing the local capacity.
John Pierce Centre	www.jpc.org.au/	Website project (past)	Funding of a website to improve communication between the Centre and their clients.
Jesuit Social Services	www.jss.org.au/	Vietnamese Welfare Resource Centre (past)	A grant was provided to assist with the running of the Centre which sees 2,600 clients per year of all age groups, focusing on those in most need of support.
Leukaemia Foundation	www.leukaemia.org.au/	Medical research project by Dr Ricky Johnstone (past)	Perform pre-clinical studies aimed at developing new therapeutic treatments for patients with leukaemia and lymphoma that do not respond to treatments currently available.
Life Education Victoria	www.lifeeducation.org.au/	Drug and Health Education Subsidy for Disadvantaged Children (past)	This grant enabled LEV to reach approximately 10,000 disadvantaged young people and helped breakdown the barrier many families face in gaining access to drug and health education for their children.
Limbs4Life	www.limbs4life.com/	Peer Support Programme (past)	Limbs4Life aims to assist Victorian amputees to lead independent, productive and fulfilling lives through the provision of a Peer Support Programme, quarterly magazine, website and community awareness raising activities.
Lord Somers Camp	www.lordsomerscamp.org.au/	Power2Lead Programme (current) SAILAway project (current)	A programme to continue the personal development of Lord Somers Camp volunteers and future leaders of the organisation. The SAILAway programme seeks to promote friendship, acceptance and mutual respect between young Australians and to promote the integration of teenagers with refugee/migrant backgrounds into the wider community.
Marie Stopes Australia	www.mariestopes.com.au/	SNAKE Condom Marketing Initiative (past)	A grant was provided to develop a comprehensive interactive CD Rom to be used by communities as a SNAKE Toolkit. The toolkits are a key to ensuring SNAKE becomes available within remote communities across Australia, informing them on safer sexual behaviour.
Mirabel Foundation	www.mirabelfoundation.com/	Breaking the Cycle (past)	Involves the provision of therapeutic services including counselling support, parenting education and targeted intervention to children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and the kinship carers (usually grandparents) who are parenting these children.
Mission Australia	www.mission.com.au/	Positive African Transitions Programme (current)	An innovative early intervention and prevention programme for young Sudanese refugees aged between 12 – 24 in the Noble Park area of Melbourne.
Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for children (now Red Kite)	www.redkite.com.au/	Financial Counselling Programme (past)	This programme offers the services of a dedicated financial counsellor to assist families who are newly diagnosed with a child with cancer. The emotional and physical demands of such an illness can lead to severe financial hardship and a downward financial spiral of accumulating debt and arrears and dependence on credit.
Mullaterong Centre Inc.		Pool Hoist Project (past) Independent Living Programme (past)	Funds provided for a mechanical pool hoist to provide a means for those with disabilities to gain access to the pool. Funding was provided to set up a house where clients could learn independent living skills.
Royal Children’s Hospital	www.rch.org.au/	The GAITRite System (past) MRI Coil for Advanced brain Imaging(past)	An innovative device for early and accurate gait analysis to improve rehabilitation and outcomes of children with acquired neurological problems and limb deficiency. To assist with early diagnosis of changes in the brain in cases of ALD and Leukodystrophy. This has a direct impact on patient care because treatment regimes can be initiated much earlier, directly affecting the health outcomes of patients.
Reach Foundation	www.reach.org.au/	Reach Programme Champions (past)	This project was a newly developed strategy of appointing 5 young people aged between 19 and 25 as programme Champions for key Reach Programmes, each responsible for their individual programmes objectives, themes, content, quality, crew expertise and marketing, in partnership with Programme Managers who are responsible for logistical delivery.
Second Bite	www.secondbite.org/	Food for the Homeless	This grant enabled Second Bite to expand the project to include more meals for the needy areas of Melbourne CBD, Fitzroy and St Kilda.
Springvale Monash Legal Service	www.smls.com.au/	South Eastern Migrant Advice Service (current)	The objective of this project is to provide free, timely immigration advice to members of the very diverse community in the Springvale/Monash area with a priority in the areas of humanitarian and refugee visa applications.
The Song Room	www.songroom.org.au/	Western English Language School Project (current)	The project seeks to tackle the challenges of communication and social integration at the most fundamental level by working with immigrant children who attend the Western English Language School at Braybrook in western Melbourne.
St Luke’s Bendigo	www.stlukes.org.au/	ParentWise (past)	This project provided services to parents and their children who face significant difficulties in their family relationships and who, if left unsupported, inevitably end up figuring heavily in the statistics around child protection, youth justice and youth homelessness.
St Vincent’s Institute	www.svi.edu.au/	3D Echocardiography Machine (current)	The main objective of this project is to expand the Institute’s heart research activities by establishing an advanced imaging technique to see precisely how the heart is functioning in a patient.
Tandana	www.weac.org.au/	Outdoor Recreation Programme (past)	A grant to enable young people to be given the opportunity to experience innovative activities for them to enjoy but also to learn to work as a team member, to rely on and be relied on, to learn to trust in another person whether that person be the trainer or one of the other clients.
Very Special Kids	www.vsk.org.au/	School Holiday Programme (past)	Provided support to establish a live-in school holiday programme for children with life threatening illnesses at the Children’s hospice, Very Special Kids House.
Victoria University	www.vu.edu.au/	Scholarship programme (current)	We have provided a grant over three years for four scholarships for disadvantaged students from Victoria who may not otherwise have access to higher education and TAFE programmes.
Western Chances	www.westernchances.org.au/	Scholarship Programme (current)	We have provided funding for fifty scholarships for a three year period which allows Western Chances to support and nurture the young person over several years. Western Chances focus is to build the community through its young people, to overcome some of the inherent disadvantage in the western suburbs.
Whitelion	www.whitelion.org.au/	ROAR Programme (current)	The ROAR Programme benefits over 8,000 children and young people aged 8 – 15 years in targeted schools. The young people that Whitelion work with are the most disadvantaged in Victoria and Tasmania.
Wintringham	www.wintringham.org.au/	Wheelchair Accessible Bus (current)	Wintringham’s elderly homeless clients are invariably without family and friends. They often live a lonely and isolated life with the constant fear of harassment and violence. This bus will enable trained recreational workers to take elderly homeless men and women on trips and excursions.