International House 1/5 Rock Street, St Lucia QLD 4067
Building support
P: +617 3721 2480 E: ihfoundation@inthouse.uq.edu.au
It has been thirteen years since an ad in the paper for a Director of College caught my eye… a tiny ad mind you, but it was enough to attract my attention. I applied having never heard of International House before. At the interview I was bold enough to ask the panel “to take a chance on me”. And I am so grateful they did. All these years later and their willingness to take that chance not only has made the college a better place to be, but made me a better person for it. Now I’m asking you to do the same and give others a chance to be better. I believe, at the heart of our philosophy is the desire to see every one of our residents not only succeed in study, but succeed in personal goals and succeed in life well past their days at International House. So, for IH, it’s always been about the residents – always been about making their lives better by investing in our young people, investing in our future leaders, future change makers, future parents, teachers, researchers and more. For our Annual Appeal this year though– it has to be about our buildings, our towers, our resident bedrooms. For many years IH has focused on a holistic approach to personal success by improving our resident programs, increasing tutorials, delivering more cultural programs, and offering increased music and sporting opportunities. While we have continually improved our resident offerings, the same cannot be said for our Towers and that is why now we’re in a state of real need with our buildings. If you have had the chance to visit us recently, you will know many of our rooms are almost exactly the same as what they were in the late 60’s and early 70’s. While our facilities and grounds staff work hard with maintenance, grounds improvements, gardens, and sustainability measures, many of our resident’s rooms have not had the chance for improvement. A situation we are well aware of, however, without increasing our fees, have been able to do little about. A large amount of operational funds are put aside each year for refurbishment, with several towers receiving makeovers in the last few years costing over $850,000. Still, it simply is not enough to refurbish all of our rooms that we need to. And, while work is continuing on other towers, we are calling on our community to support G Tower –The Sir Clem Renouf Building – Renovation Project. Thanks to the generous donations of Rotary Clubs and some corporate and individual donors, G Tower has seen 14 bedrooms renovated in the last 2 years. But, if we hope to have this tower renovated in line with the others, it is a project we need to finish sooner rather than later. Last year as we celebrated our 50th anniversary, our alumni, past staff and friends of the College had an opportunity to reflect on what their involvement with International House means to them. How did it shape their study? Their career? Their personal life? Their relationships? I am confident every one of them can look back and know IH has been a positive influence in some way. Now, on behalf of the International House Foundation Ltd board, on behalf of our staff and on behalf of our residents, I am asking that this year, you will be able to be a positive influence, and give a gift through our Annual Appeal. Join us in making IH a better place to be, join us in bringing G Tower back to life and back to a standard worthy of our residents. Back to an impressive space to live and learn. Over the page, you will find some specific gift amounts we can put to work straight away. Please consider these amounts and I invite you to make a gift that is meaningful and manageable for you. Yours in gratitude
Dr Carla Tromans