2018 SYDNEY BASED CHARITABLE FOUNDATION HAS COMMITTED $750,000 SUPPORT OVER 5 YEARS
Welcome on board our Ear Bus Walter and Eliza Hall Charitable Foundation. What an honour to receive your support. In early June we received a call from their CEO Helen Cook to enquire about our project. She invited us to put a proposal to her board for partnership funding. The following is an extract of the press release.
Chief Executive Officer of the Walter and Eliza Hall Charitable Foundation, Helen Cook is almost certain that she could still hear squeals of delight after putting down the phone following her phone call to Donna Rees and Rachel Mills to advise that the Board of Directors of the Walter and Eliza Hall Charitable Foundation had agreed to provide $750,000 of funding over five years toward the Hear Our Heart Ear Bus Project. 2018-2023 “We have been looking for a special organisation to partner with for some time that has a genuine focus on indigenous health”, Helen said.
“Otitis Media has been identified as an ongoing, serious condition that if left untreated will result in significant hearing disability. The Orana Regional Community must be commended for initiating and supporting this project and providing funding for its establishment. Whilst the Walter and Eliza Hall Charitable Foundation has committed $150,000 per annum we are very mindful that community support and donations will still be required. The difference this organisation has made through the Hear Our Heart Ear Bus Project to the hearing health of children cannot be underestimated and we are very proud to be a part of the continuation and expansion of its programs” Helen added.
Helen tells us the story of the Trust. "In 1912 Eliza Hall established a £1,000,000 Trust in memory of her late husband Walter Hall, who passed away in 1911. Over the past 106 years this organisation has financially assisted tens of thousands of individuals and organisations. Walter Hall was one of the last owners of the Cobb & Co Coach line and also a major shareholder in The Mount Morgan Gold Mine near Rockhampton in Queensland. They would be proud to be supporting such a wonderful organisation like Hear our Heart."
Helen visits us in July 2018 at Dubbo West Public School to see the project in full swing.
May 2022, new CEO Monique Ribeiro visits. After 25 years serving the Trust Helen Cook announced her retirement. Before retiring she bought new CEO Monique to the country to see our project in action. It didnt take long before Monique was equally as passionate about our project as Helen was. When Mmonique heard we had a fundraiser coming up in July, she booked a ticket to come!
Before retiring Helen had one more job to do: Announce that Walter and Eliza Hall committed to continue supporting the project for a further four years, with an increase of the funding to $200,000 per annum unitil June 2027
Who were Walter and Eliza Hall? During the middle of the nineteenth century, Englishman Walter Hall came to Australia with only a few pounds in his pocket to seek his fortune in the gold rush. After a shaky start he became a very successful and wealthy businessman. Much of his wealth came from Queensland's Mt. Morgan gold mine. He also acquired substantial holdings in the booming pastoral industry and his entrepreneurial skills also extended to transport. He was one of the last owners of Cobb and Co, the horse-drawn coach line of Australian history and tradition. He died in 1911 aged 80 years.
Both Walter and his wife, Eliza, were active philanthropists during their life together. In the year following her husband's death Eliza set up a charitable trust with a donation of £1,000,000. It was named the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust.
The Walter and Eliza Hall Trust Vision For those who are financially disadvantaged, particularly women and children and the disabled, to have timely access to the basic necessities and at least the minimal comforts of life consistent with contemporary Australian community standards.
Mission To provide a ready and sympathetic source of funds for those needing relief from the effects of financial disadvantage, disease, and disability, and to make a real difference to the well-being and quality of life of those Australians we are able to assist.
Values
We respect the social, economic, religious, and cultural contributions of all individuals and communities and are non-discriminatory in our grant making.
We are not judgmental about the causes of need in the individual cases in which we become involved.
We provide assistance in a way that maintains client dignity and some freedom of choice.
Where donors make gifts for specific purposes, we respect their wishes.
We endeavor to remain faithful to the intentions of the founder of our charity.
Priorities
To direct our resources responsibly and to best effect.
To operate a well-managed, efficient, and accountable organization.
To deepen and broaden our funding base.
To develop our organizational capabilities in the areas of communications, marketing, and sector relationships.