Thank you

Many acknowledgments need to be made as a result of the generous donations we have received over the years.

The Australian Leukodystrophy Support Group is committed to providing the best possible care and support for all leukodystrophy sufferers and their families. We thank most sincerely all individuals, groups and organisations who give so generously to our group. Without them, the ALDS would not be able to maintain the high level of support that all leukodystrophy families deserve.

2012

Uniting Church Hamilton Parish has donated $623.58 from the proceeds of their Christmas Tree Project. ALDS shared the proceeds of this project with another charity. We are very grateful to all involved in the project.

The Challenge Fund Incorporated contributed $12,351.97 which is the final deposit of proceeds from the 2011 ALDS Sydney Fundraising Golf Day and Charity Challenge Ball. Our sincere thanks and best wishes go to Mr Gary Dawson OAM and Mr Matthew Laverty for their continued support of the ALDS and our families. Thank you to all who supported the golf day and the ball and helped to make 2012.

Ricky Spitz and her friends donated $500 to ALDS. Ricky very kindly nominated our group for donations at the time of a recent birthday. Thank you one and all, you are very kind.

Staff of Barwon Valley School collected $100 for ALDS after listening to a talk presented by ALDS Ambassador, Mr John Olsen.

Mr John Olsen is donating the proceeds from the sale of his book ‘From Point AA to Point B’. John’s kind heartedness and generosity is enormous. We thank you so much for all that you do for the ALDS John and wish you all the very best in life.

Thank you to Mr K P Higgins for your donation of $200.

ALDS Volunteer Counsellor, Mrs Nada Miocevic, donates annually to the ALDS as do a number of her Art Therapy associates. Thank you very much Nada for your continued support and affection for our group and our families.

2011

Mangles Bay Fishing Club continue to make weekly donations to the ALDS. In 2011 they very generously donated $1,715 to support our families. Donations were made from fundraising activities such as the weekly meat raffle and the end of year ‘Mangles Bay’s Got Talent’ Quest. Thank you to all members for contributing to your club’s great sense of fun and community by supporting these two fundraising activities. Cheers to all and especially to Deb and Wayne Bahlinger for being the instigator of ALDS’ involvement.

Thank you very much to the anonymous supporter who donated $2,000 for families.

Marie Grafen and the Mission Awareness ladies have raised $1,520 for ALDS at the 10th Annual Springtime Luncheon. Thank you to Marie, her friends and supporters. Thank you also to Rose Alafaci for contributing proceeds of her craft sales to this function. $290 was raised by Rose.

Michael & Jo Connolly of Dreamtime-Kullilla Art donated the proceeds of their raffle ticket sales from their recent Bush Tucker Day to our group. Thank you very much to Michael & Jo for raising $546 and to our Queensland State Representative, Mr Bob Wyborn, for volunteering to sell tickets at the event.

Jazzfore Pty Ltd has donated $250 to our work. Thank you to Ian Purchas for facilitating this donation.

Veronica Seeber/Stirling Players/Red Hat Ladies and ALDS families and friends – thank you for your participation in the fundraising theatre night on November 10th. You efforts have raised approximately $1,700. Well done to all.

Thank you very much to Mr Vu Do for providing his considerable website editing talent free of charge to us – our Office Manager sincerely appreciates your support, Vu. www.mrpony.com.au

The Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation has supported our project ‘Better Support for Families’ by granting us $12,500 – our thanks and best wishes to all at the Foundation for your continued support. A cheque was given to us at the annual ‘Celebration of Giving’ ceremony which was held at the Regent Plaza Ballroom on Tuesday October 25th. Thank you again to all at the Foundation for holding this special function which honours the partnership between the many charitable organisations who receive funding and the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

 

Indian Arts Academy – On Saturday October 1st we had the pleasure of attending a beautiful evening of music in support of ALDS. The evening was organised by Paresh and Deepika Valob in memory of their daughter Shivani. Paresh and Deepika were supported in their efforts by the students and staff of the Indian Arts Academy along with professional musicians from Australia and overseas. Thank you to all for raising $2,551 for the ALDS.

Dept of Families, Housing, Community Service and Indigenous Affairs granted us $1,798.40 for the purchase of video equipment which will be used at ALDS functions. Thank you to FaHCSIA for this valuable contribution to our group.

Thank you to Stephen Pillinger for his donation of $500.

Thank you to the ladies of the Long Reef Golf Club for their continued support by dedicating the proceeds of their charity day to the ALDS. $1,456 was donated through this year’s event.

Italian Golf Club, Sydney Sincere thanks to all members of the Italian Golf Club Sydney, the Fairways Fundraising Group and the Brian Kirby Foundation for their joint participation and co-operation in the fundraising golf day and dinner that was held for the ALDS in July this year. The event was well supported by golfers and friends and very well organised by Muzio Cantarella and his team on the IGC Committee – thank you all very much for your donation of $1,828.

Haigh’s Chocolates - Thank you very much to Alister Haigh and his staff for their donation of $400. Special thanks from our Sally and our South Australian families who sincerely appreciate your hospitality and support of their annual social gatherings.

Mangles Bay Fishing Club have been very kind to us this year and have agreed to donate the proceeds of their Friday Night Meat Raffle to the ALDS. To date we have received $1,115 towards our work. Thank you very much to Deb and Wayne Bahlinger and all member of the Mangles Bay Fishing Club. Your ongoing support will make a great deal of difference to the support we are able to provide to families.

Many thanks again to the St.George Foundation Board, Staff and Volunteers for continuing to support us in 2011 with a grant of $50,000 for our Family Advocate project. Special thanks to Judith Lewis and Joy Krahe for their friendship and understanding and for their compassion for our families.

The Brian Kirby Foundation has donated $30,000 to the ALDS for the purpose of addressing the needs of individuals affected by vision impairment. Their very generous donation was presented to us at the Italian Golf Club fundraising golf day for ALDS on Monday 25th July 2011. We are very grateful to the Italian Golf Club committee and their members for conducting the golf day on our behalf. Special thanks to the IGC Sydney President, Muzio Cantarella for his hard work in organising the golf day. We are directing these funds to the establishment of the Brian Kirby Foundation Library which will provide aids, equipment and services that address issues arising from vision impairment.

Challenge Fund Incorporated have supported us with a donation of $8,137.35 towards our work and which will be added to the proceeds of the 2010 ALDS Fundraising Golf Day and Charity Challenge Dinner. Thank you to Gary Dawson and his team for all the work they do on behalf of the ALDS and on behalf of many more small charities. We are very grateful for everything you do.

Australia Post Staff have very generously donated the proceeds of their annual staff raffle to ALDS. We thank you, one and all, for donating $8,930.27 to our group. Thanks very much for the special concern and attention given to us by Elisabeth McCafferty.

Anonymous – thank you to our anonymous friends who have donated $3,500 and $2,000 which will be given directly to families in need.

Sincere thanks and heartfelt condolences to Ron and Berlio O’Brien who dedicated donations from family and friends to the ALDS at the time of their daughter Annalies’ funeral. We have received $380.00 to assist families in need and we thank you for thinking of us at such a sad and difficult time.

Sincere thanks to David and Judith Atze, their family and friends for supporting ALDS at the sad time of their son Shannon’s death. ALDS received donations of $985 in memory of Shannon who passed away on 14th April 2011. Our heartfelt condolences go to David, Judith, Nathan and Emmalee at this time and our sincere thanks to all who supported us.

Sincere thanks to Sue Riggs, her family and friends for supporting ALDS at such a sad time by donating $690 which was given, instead of flowers, at Hugo’s funeral. Hugo passed away on 2nd February 2011 and is very sadly missed.

Thank you very much also, to a very generous person who donated $500 for the direct support of a particular family. Your wishes have been fulfilled and your donation was gratefully accepted by a family in need.

Thank you to a very generous golfer who gave ALDS his $500 prize money from a tournament.

Front Row Events have provided ALDS with $500. Thank you to all staff for this gift which will be put to very good use for the benefit of families.

The Brian Kirby Foundation ALDS was given a donation of $10,000 for the purpose of supporting families and individuals affected by vision impairment. Thank you very much to the foundation and also to Paul Dovico from Duncan Dovico Chartered Accountants for this recognition of our work. We are currently in the process of allocating funds to families who fit this criteria.

Precinct Group Pty Ltd and Photon Group the launch of our re-designed website took place in February and all thanks for this go to Ross Duggan and his team at Precinct who worked extremely hard to provide us with our new, beautiful website. Many thanks also to the Photon Group of Companies who initiated this valuable and worthwhile process.

Anonymous We are very happy to have received $30,000 from an anonymous donor. This donation will be used for administration as requested.

Thank you most sincerely for supporting families in need through your donation of $2,000. This donation will be distributed directly to families in need as requested.

2010

St.George Foundation acknowledged the achievements and benefits of our Family Advocate project by providing us with $20,000 top up funding for the first years employment of a Family Advocate to support families. Sincere thanks to the Board, staff and volunteers of the St.George Foundation for all they do to assist grass roots organisations such as the ALDS to achieve their goals for the benefit of their members.

Estate of the Late Rex David Pelham
Our sincere thanks and condolences go to the Pelham family for their support. Rex Pelham kindly remembered the ALDS in his Will. Thank you also to Ogilvie Jennings for forwarding us this cheque for $500.

Mark Dempsey donated $1,000 towards our golf day. Thank you very much Mark!

Genetic Services Network of Victoria provided us with $400 for support our Golf Day fundraising event. Their grant allowed us to print flyers and other advertising material that supported the event. Thank you for your generosity GSNV – very much appreciated.

Hamilton Friends and Supporters
Thanks to everyone who supported Deirdre Quinsey, her partner Dennis, and her two daughters, Ashleigh and Samantha, by attending a concert held in memory of Josh Quinsey. The concert, Dennis Turner Plays Bob Dylan, was held on Sunday, 29 August 2010 and raised $1,800 for the ALDS through ticket sales, donations and fundraising. We sincerely appreciate the generosity of Hamilton residents and the family and friends of the Quinsey family.

Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
Thank you to the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation for supporting us so generously this year through a grant of $12,500 towards administration expenses. This gift means such a lot to our committee and members. It gives us great peace of mind knowing that income from donations and fundraising continues to be directed to families affected by leukodystrophy.

Macquarie Telecom
To the team at Macquarie Telecom, thank you very much for keeping us in mind when looking for recipients for three laptop computers. Three ALDS families now have laptops to use, which will significantly enhance their lives by creating communication opportunities that would otherwise have been unavailable.

St.George Foundation
We are so grateful to the St.George Foundation for their continued support over a number of years now. It is comforting to know that St.George recognises the value of our group and the special needs of our families. We successfully applied for a grant of $5,000 from the Foundation. Four families have received the funds necessary to fulfil their wishes for their children – one child will be given speech therapy, one child will be given a standing frame, two children will be given feeder seats, and one child will be given education aids to be used at home and at school.

Make A Wish Foundation
The Make A Wish Foundation recently arranged for a Western Australian family to visit Melbourne for a Wiggles concert. This family’s three-year-old daughter has an undiagnosed leukodystrophy. We thank the Make A Wish Foundation – Mandurah Branch and, in particular, Christine Hodges and Glenice Haines for making the weekend so special. From the moment they left home to the time they arrived back, the family was treated very kindly. They enjoyed many wonderful opportunities, including catching up with other family members in Melbourne and a trip to the Melbourne Zoo. Thank you also to The Wiggles themselves for providing an additional concert ticket for another member of the family.

Challenge Fund Inc.
As a result of further fundraising after the Inaugural Sydney Golf Day in 2009, Gary Dawson OAM and his colleagues at the Challenge Fund Inc. provided the ALDS with a cheque for $5,023.15. This money was raised at the Charity Challenge Ball, which was held in November 2009. We sincerely thank all those who helped organise this event, as well as those who attended and actively supported the auction and raffle events that were held over the course of the evening.

Adam Gardiner Foundation
Many thanks to Terry Gardiner from the Adam Gardiner Foundation for supporting the ALDS at the time of the inaugural Sydney Golf Day and the Charity Challenge Ball by donating $660.

Anonymous
Thank you very much for your recent donation of $10,000 and for expressing your support for families in this way.

Anonymous
We have received an anonymous donation of $500. Many thanks for your kindness and generosity.

Many thanks to Paresh,Deepika and Deepesh Valob and their Family and Friends for their donations totalling $1,293.00 in memory of Shivani. Shivani is very sadly missed and lives on in the hearts of all who knew her and her wonderful family.

Portelli  Family

Thank you very much for your ongoing support over many years. Your donation of $500 will go a long way to assist families affected by leukodystrophy.

Sr Julie Thomas
Julie’s acts of kindness and concern continue through her recent donation of $10,000 to the ALDS. Julie received a bequest and, in very typical fashion, decided that the ALDS would be a more suitable recipient than herself. Thank you very much, Julie – you still amaze us!

Anonymous
The generous and caring nature of so many in the community never ceases to astound us. We are so grateful to one wonderful person for an anonymous donation of $50,000.

Long Reef Golf Club
We thank the Long Reef Golf Club for choosing the ALDS for its fundraising efforts during 2010. We have received $1,650 from the ladies and thank them most sincerely for committing themselves to the ALDS this year.

Lions Club of Geelong – Longest Walk Committee
The Longest Walk Committee never seems to stop working. We thank you all so much for your continued efforts on our behalf. The ALDS was the recent benefactor of a further $1,900, which will be put towards assistance for families with mobility issues.

Talya Brookman
Thank you, Talya, for donating artwork from the Chase Gallery in Sydney. Your gift has raised over $3,000 for our group.

The Precinct Group Pty Ltd
Thanks to Ross Duggan and Andrew Strachan from the Precinct Group for assisting with updating our website. This is an ongoing project that will be finalised later in the year. So, please stay tuned for our new look.

2009

Tenix Foundation
The Tenix Foundation has very kindly donated $5,000. The donation came to us in support of a Tenix Solutions staff member who was the recent recipient of a Chairman’s Award. Many thanks to the Tenix Foundation, Tenix Solutions and your staff for such a generous gesture.

All Souls’ Opportunity Shop
Thank you very much to the Volunteer Auxiliary of the All Souls’ Opportunity Shop for donating $600. This very dedicated and kind group of ladies has been assisting the ALDS for many years now. We take this opportunity to express our very sincere thanks for their continued support.

Haigh’s Chocolate Factory
Many thanks to Alister Haigh, CEO of Haigh’s Chocolate Factory, for his sponsorship of the South Australian ALDS Carer’s Week Luncheon, which was held at the Muscular Dystrophy Association on Saturday, 7 November 2009. Mr Haigh contributed $500 to cover the cost of the luncheon and also assisted us in organising a tour and afternoon tea at the factory, which took place on 17 October 2010. Thanks also to the wonderful staff who assisted us on this very pleasant day.

Muscular Dystrophy Association of South Australia
MDA SA has been particularly helpful to our group in the last few years. We sincerely thank all staff who assisted us in conducting a luncheon in support of Carer’s Week 2009. We all had a very enjoyable time together.

Newman’s Own Foundation – ‘A Delicious Way to Give’

Paul Newman was committed to helping make the world a better place. To carry on his philanthropic legacy, Newman’s Own Foundation is donating to five nationally based charities in their annual philanthropic campaign which sees a total of $1 million given to worthwhile causes. This year the foundation is honored to be making grants to a total $315,500 and a further example of the generous legacy left by Paul Newman, who died late last year (2008).

– Newman’s Own Foundation

The ALDS is very fortunate to be one of these beneficiaries, receiving a grant of approximately $59,300. We are extremely grateful to the late Paul Newman and his Foundation.

Sr Julie Thomas and Mary Myers attended the official presentation at Sofitel Melbourne, along with a number of other recipients. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet with Bob Forrester, President of the Newman’s Own Foundation. A world-renowned leader in the philanthropic and non-governmental sectors, Bob was also a close personal friend and adviser to Paul Newman.

The grant will enable us to employ our first case manager to assist families throughout Australia.

‘Who knew that a bottle of salad dressing could, in turn, forever change the lives of thousands in need around the world? That’s mighty potent (and tasty!) stuff.’ More information is available here.

The Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation – Melbourne
We are pleased to announce that, for the third year, we have received a Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation grant of $12,500 for our ‘Better Support for Families’ cause. Special thanks to Grants & Philanthropy Director Leigh Wallace and also to Robyn Stanton for her support.

Carers VIC Australia
We are delighted to announce that Carers VIC Australia awarded us a $200 grant in August 2009. These funds will contribute greatly to our programs.

St.George Foundation – Grant

On Thursday, 11 June 2010, Bronwyn Paterson, Branch Manager at St.George Bank in Cheltenham, and Gordon Tansey, Regional Executive from the Melbourne City South Office, presented Sr Julie Thomas CSB OAM with a $20,000 grant to assist with Project Freedom. This money will be distributed to assist a number of families around Australia. We are extremely grateful to St.George Foundation, which supports children’s charities in Australia to improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged kids. Since 1990, over $13 million has been distributed to hundreds of charities to help thousands of children be the best they can be.

Camberwell Rotary Club – Grant
The Camberwell Rotary Club honoured the ALDS with $2,500. These funds will be distributed to Victorian families experiencing difficulties as a result of leukodystrophy. Jo-Anne Tamlyn, Project Co-Ordinator at Chronic Illness Alliance Inc, is doing a fantastic job. As a member of the Camberwell Rotary Club, Jo-Anne has been greatly supportive in her applications on our behalf. We thank Jo-Anne, Chronic Illness Alliance Inc. and the Camberwell Rotary Club for their generous support and contributions.

Genetic Support Network of Victoria (GSNV)
Special thanks go to Leah Lonsdale, Coordinator at GSNV, for her great work in approving our application for the Special Projects Grant of $200.

Luncheon at Caulfield Racecourse Melbourne
A special luncheon was held at Caulfield Racecourse in the Elms Function Room on Wednesday, 5 August 2009. Our Guest Speaker, John Olsen (Longest Walk for an Aussie Kid), spoke of his solo walk across Australia. Guests viewed a DVD of images taken by John during the walk. Our appreciation goes to Marie Graffen for her ongoing thoughtfulness, planning and generosity. Approximately $2,000 was raised for the ALDS.

Lions Club of Geelong – Longest Walk Committee
Special thanks go to Brian Edward and the other Lions who helped raise $62,000 for the ALDS through John Olsen’s Longest Walk for an Aussie Kid. And, of course, a big thank you to John himself.

John Olsen – Personal Donation
John personally donated $5,000 to the ALDS, in addition to raising tremendous funds through his Longest Walk for an Aussie Kid marathon. For more information, click on the News tab.

Cargill Australia – Donation
We sincerely thank management and staff at Cargill Australia for their generous and kind contribution of $5,000 in aid of Andrew MacPherson’s ‘Sponsor a Triathlete’ fundraising event for the ALDS.

Andrew MacPherson
Andrew set himself a challenge in order to raise money for his friends whose three children were diagnosed with MLD and also for the ALDS. He sought sponsorship for completing the Ford Australia Ironman Triathlon endurance race (swim 3.9kms, bike 180kms, run 42.2kms). The event involved over 300 hours of training, in which Andrew ran over 1,000km, swam over 250km and rode over 5,400km. We wish to thank Andrew for his kindness, generosity and hard work in raising funds for his friends and for the ALDS. Congratulations, Andrew, for completing the triathlon in April 2009 and achieving your goals.

Russell Investment Group Pty Ltd
We received a donation of $500 from the Russell Investment Group Staff Matching Program. Thank you to all concerned for including the ALDS in your program this year.

Oenone Wood
Our sincere thanks to Oenone Wood for serving as ALDS Ambassador. Oenone, who retired from professional cycling at the end of 2008, worked extremely hard and always strived to achieve her best. We hope she continues to receive much joy and pride from the sparkling achievements of her career. Oenone will continue to be an inspiration for many years to come. She joined us as Ambassador in May 2006 and very generously and graciously appeared on our behalf at special events and publicity engagements.

The BlueArc Group
We hope everyone will take advantage of the easy way you can donate to the ALDS. Our online donation system has been set up with the assistance of the staff and management of BlueArc, an IT professional services company. We thank all involved in the project for committing their time and resources to our group.

2008

Oxfam Skill Share
Many thanks to Kate Taylor from Oxfam Skill Share. Kate connected us with a wonderful volunteer to advise and support us with all public relations and media matters during the Longest Walk for an Aussie Kid campaign. The assistance we received from Oxfam, Kate and Margot Gorski of PR Matters was instrumental in achieving the widespread awareness that John Olsen’s walk needed. This collaboration between an organisation, a volunteer and our group has strengthened the ability of the ALDS to be successful in future fundraising and public relations ventures. Thank you to all.

Margot Gorski – PR Matters
Thank you, Margot, for all the wonderful work you did to assist us with the Longest Walk for an Aussie Kid campaign. You provided knowledge and expertise that proved to be most beneficial to our group, to John Olsen and to the Geelong Lions Club — and will continue to be invaluable to us during future ventures into public relations. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Good Company Volunteers and Management
Large and important projects that require knowledge and expertise in fields unfamiliar to our group often remain on hold until ‘the right people’ come along. This happened much more quickly when we approached Good Company for assistance in finding a professional volunteer who could help us produce our promotional DVD. We have now created a wonderful DVD that is of a much higher standard than we could have achieved on our own. The DVD was produced in a very respectable amount of time and at next to no cost. We are so grateful to the management and staff of Good Company and to Brendan Patterson, who so graciously accepted the challenge to help us achieve this long-term dream.

Good Company has also been responsible for partnering us with Allison Brown from Profile Consulting, who has been assisting us in writing grant applications since 2007.

Michael Long
Another very generous person who has given his time and expertise to assist with our promotional DVD is Michael Long from Mobile MultiMedia. Michael very generously printed our initial run of 100 copies of the DVD. He also supplied us with artwork for the label and cases. Many thanks to you, Michael, for your friendship and generosity during this special project and for providing us with a further 100 DVDs in August 2009. For a copy of the DVD, please contact the ALDS via email at mail@alds.org.au, or phone +61 3 9584 7070.

And thanks to:

Currajong State School

St Michael’s School

Pandahcare Pty Ltd

‘Friends Group’ for a NSW Family Trust

Novita and the South East Metropolitan Region of the Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre

Santos Moomba ‘Friends Group’

Dick Smith Foods Pty Ltd

Howard Glover Charitable Trust

Anonymous Donations

SAP Australia

Adelaide Benevolent Society

The Rotary Club of Maroubra NSW

The Costa Family Foundation

Anonymous Donations

Department of Human Services