2020 FOUNDATION IMPACT REPORT 2020 Foundation Impact Report
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CONTENTS From the Principal
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From the Chair
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From Director of Community Engagement
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Impact of Giving
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Impact of COVID at Ruyton
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Making a Difference
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Leaving a Legacy
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Listing of 2020 Donors
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL Strengthening connection across our community with a shared sense of purpose is central to the vision of Ruyton. It is a vision that became all the more important during a challenging year. In 2020 we saw the true strength of community at Ruyton as staff, students, parents and Old Girls reached out to connect, support each other and support others. It reminded me that in times such as this the best response is often to dig deep and focus on making a difference. And this was definitely the spirit of Ruyton. We thank you for your generous support of the Foundation during a year like no other. Your contributions to the COVID bursaries and Founder’s Scholarship have made a significant difference to families in our community. Contributions to Speech Night awards have ensured our continued celebration for student excellence and endeavour, something we are passionate about at Ruyton.
Whilst we are all still negotiating the impact of this pandemic we have much to look forward to at Ruyton. The School has truly come back to life in a joyful way with staff and students onsite. POR and ORA functions and reunions are once again on the calendar and we are planning for the future in terms of buildings and strategy. We are cautiously optimistic. Best wishes to you and your loved ones. We hope this year is a better one for us all and we hope to see you again soon. Thank you so much for making a difference at Ruyton – your support of our girls is definitely a positive investment in the future. Linda Douglas Principal, Ruyton Girls’ School
2020 Foundation Impact Report
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FROM THE CHAIR For our girls Hello, and welcome to the 2020 edition of the Ruyton Foundation Impact Report. I am honoured and humble to take on the role of Chair from my accomplished predecessor Fiona Griffiths (1987) and hope to lead the Ruyton Foundation into the future as we advance Ruyton together. All giving, however large or small makes a difference, and this is why we were so heartened to receive such positive support from our community to the Annual Appeal in 2020. In a year filled with more challenges than many of us had faced before, people could still see the value in giving back. I encourage you all to look at page 4 to see the impact of these gifts.
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I often find myself thinking about the future of Ruyton and how the Foundation can help make a difference. The year ahead will be filled with many advancements for our School and our girls, including the recommencement of our plans to redevelop Royce. I can’t wait to share more information with you in due course. Until then, if you have any questions about these exciting plans or the Foundation do please get in touch. Those before us helped pave the way for those who follow – which is us, so let’s impact the future of our School for those yet to come. I look forward to being on this journey with you, together. Peter Nelson Chair, Ruyton Foundation
FROM DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Our community As 2020 started, we quickly realised it would be a year like no other as we were required to pivot and move as the landscape dictated. With our focus firmly on the learning and wellbeing of our girls, the Foundation was able to step up and support the COVID bursary for our existing families. This support ensured we could make a significant difference for many of our girls here, right now. There was much discussion on whether to proceed with the Annual Appeal. We decided to go ahead in the end as several people contacted us enquiring how they could provide support. We were so heartened to then receive such a positive response, to both the COVID bursary and the Founder’s Scholarship. We were also delighted to award an additional girl with the Founder’s Scholarship to start in 2021. There was continued support of our Speech Night and we were able to provide fitting and long‑lasting memories for our Class of 2020, such an important impact in a difficult year.
As a community our Parents of Ruyton also came together to publish the community Cookbook. This made an amazing impact, not only to community wellbeing but also raising in excess of $20,000! With plans to reignite the redevelopment of Royce in the future, we will be in touch in the months ahead to communicate details with you. We know the difference this will make to our whole community and are so excited to be able to share this with you soon. There is much the Ruyton community has to be proud of, for those here today and those to come tomorrow. Sally de Guingand Director of Community Engagement
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IMPACT OF GIVING 2020
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NUMBER OF DONORS 2020
TOTAL
SENIOR SCHOOL PAST PARENTS
12 JUNIOR SCHOOL
17
$20
$20,000
BUILDING FUND $18,110.00
FOUNDER’S SCHOLARSHIP $75,430.00
BEQUESTS ruyton girls’ school
ALUMNAE
107
SMALLEST DONATION LARGEST DONATION
4
25
STAFF
10
8
OTHER
YOUNGEST DONOR
OLDEST DONOR
19
98
YEARS OLD
YEARS OLD
BURSARIES $62,265.20
OTHER* $19,095.80
* Includes Speech Night. General Sponsorship, Australian Sports Foundation
IMPACT OF COVID AT RUYTON We are in this together 2020 was the year none of us could have expected, as we were required to adapt to ongoing social restrictions. Businesses within our community had to pivot, evolve and in some cases downsize. Many people faced decreased, and in some cases, lost incomes.
There were so many challenges in 2020 as we coped with disruption in almost every aspect of our lives. The wellbeing of all in our community is important, so being able to support our families providing educational stability was something our School, strongly supported by the Board, could do.
As a school we needed to look inwards and try to help our own community, our Ruyton families. The school’s priority was to focus on our girls’ education and ensure we provided as safe a learning environment as possible. The Board and Ruyton leadership team determined they would help our own, and provided financial support to 46 families who were financially affected by COVID-19 (relief was given through both payment plans and fee reduction). The Foundation contributed over $47,000 in support.
We could not have made this difference without your contributions to the Foundation, including those who gave to the COVID-19 Bursary appeal in 2020, so we thank you all. Together we made a real difference today to our girls' education – that really is making an impact.
HOW MANY FAMILIES WE SUPPORTED THROUGH THE COVID BURSARY
46 FAMILIES COMPRISING 68 STUDENTS $205,747 IN FINANCIAL SUPPORT (BOTH FEE RELIEF AND PAYMENT PLANS)
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE John Bate was dedicated to making a difference to girls education John’s daughter Robyn Kanat (Bate, 1980) remembers her father ‘loved the sense of community at Ruyton’. John and his wife Liz were active community members who consciously sought out new families in order to make them feel welcome. Connecting with people through his work on the School Council and the Foundation, John made lifelong friends at Ruyton and firmly believed ‘the more you give, the more you get back’. An active philanthropist ‘Dad felt girls schools get the rough deal when it comes to giving compared to boys. He had a passion to change that at Ruyton and make a difference’. Robyn remembers her father’s firm belief that families who gave to their son’s schools, but not their daughters were sending the message that ‘your daughters are not as important as your sons’.
Fostering a culture of philanthropy and driving the campaign for the Physical Education Centre, it is fitting it is named in his honour. The John Bate Centre has supported the physical education and wellbeing of generations of Ruyton students while also providing the School with increased revenue through the highly successful Swim School. ‘Dad believed we all have a responsibility to contribute to educating people, especially women. I was fortunate to have parents who did that, I do feel proud as a daughter that he has made a difference and his name will live on’. John Gordon Bate OAM (1926–2016) † Daughters Wendy Bull (Bate, 1975), Liz Bate and Robyn Kanat (Bate, 1980) Grandchildren Clare Bull (2004), Jack Bull (EL, 2010), Zoe Kanat (2011), Sarah Kanat (2014) and Mitchell (EL, 2015) †deceased
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LEAVING A LEGACY Micky Ashton 6th Front row.
Micky Ashton (Marshall, 1965) Both Micky Ashton and her daughter Cathy (1995) attended Ruyton for seven years. Micky volunteers with Ruyton’s Archivist Cathy Dodson (when COVID-19 restrictions permit). Ruyton’s archive is onsite in Wardysnki House which was bequeathed to the School from a generous neighbour. ‘I have been working for four years as a volunteer in the Ruyton Archives with Cathy Dodson the Archivist. I decided to leave a modest bequest to be used specifically by the Archivist as there are many projects that could be done if we only had more money. As a former professional librarian and archivist, I know the value of archives and I am happy to think my bequest might play a small part in furthering the work of the Archives’.
Cathy Dodson and Micky Ashton
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LISTING OF 2020 DONORS Ashton, Merrienne (Marshall 1965)
Douglas, Linda
Badger, Ann
Ekers, Paul
Berry, Georgia and Simpson, Tom
Fan, Yu
Blumbergs, Elizabeth
Fox, Christina and Michael
Buchanan, Natasha
Furphy, Catherine (Anderson 1962)
Caplan, Alyssa and Michael
Gardner, Pamela (Daniels 1964)
Casey, Beverley
Gillam, Helen and John
Chapman, Joanne and Christopher
Gough, Brier (1969)
Cheng, Yaping and Yong, Sun
Graham, Bill
CHH Property
Gray, Melinda and Michael
Clarke, Margaret (Menzies 1957)
Griffith, Renee and Brett
Clarke, Larissa and Anton
Griffiths, Fiona (1987) and Osmond, Anthony
Clarke, Jessica (2018)
Grollo, Adam
Cleeve, Jennifer and Brent
Han, Rong and Gu, Jinqiu
Condon, Annie and Cunnington, Mark
Harris, Pamela (Brodribb 1970)
Corr, Imogen and Wallis, Rohan
Hartin, Simone and Darren
Crosby, Fiona
Henderson, Heather (Menzies 1946)
Danks, Heather and Alister
Hickey, Erin and Mancel
Darling, Paula and Lee, Warren
Higgins, Melanie (Blomquist 1992) and Andrew
Davidson, Katie and Tristan
Honey, Narelle and Adam
Dayman, Samantha and Mark
Hu, Anfang and Kuang, Yuxiang
de Guingand, Sally (1986)
Hudson, Katie and John
Dean, Sally (1970)
Hutchinson, Elaine (Chipper 1960)
Deane, Faye
James, Cynthia (Rodwell 1939)
Devlin, Karen and Davison, Stuart
Jamieson, Dr. Elizabeth and Robert
Dixon, Mary (Macpherson Smith 1957)
Jordan, Helen and Peter
Doufas, Angela and Chris
Khaw, Dr. Pearly and Leong, Prof. Trevor
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We would like to thank all our donors in 2020 for making a difference today and those to come tomorrow King, Heather and Dr. John
Sharples, Peter
Lam, Sim Ching and Ho, Chun Fai
Smith, Leanne
Li, Li and Shi, Shi
Stanway, Jean (Berry 1950)
Lim, Shair and Wat, Henry
Stewart, Robert
Lim-Lay, Irene and Lay, Andison
Stone, Chloe and Adam
Liu, Lydia and Liang, Feng
Taylor, Kylie
Look, Lilian and Neoh, Julian
Timm, Gabriella and David
Macdonald, Jennifer (1966)
Tinney, Laura (2018)
Margetts, Hilary (1964)
Tran, Chi and Nguyen, Dr. Hieu
McLaughlan, Virginia
Truong, Cathy and Huy
Menyen, Mira (2019)
Utter, Megan (1993) and Marchant, Dr. Jason
Milne, Elizabeth (1980)
Van Bavel, Emma and Cartledge, Glenn
Moulden, Dr. Anne (1976)
van Haandel, Jennifer and John
O'Brien, Maeve
Walmsley, Belinda and Stephen
Old Ruytonians’ Association
Wang, Coco and Wu, Heping
Pan, Qi and Yang, James
Webb, Jillian (Daniels 1966)
Pang, Haijie and Huang, Fei
Weeraman, Deepa and Dr. Ajith
Parents of Ruyton
Wijeyaratne, Chandrika and Peter
Pearson, Joan (1944)
Wong, Alice and Alfred
Perelsztejn, Diane and Rabinowicz, Les
Woolrich, Karina and Rev. Malcolm
Perez-Torres, Dr. Halimah and Maximo
Wright, Anne and Graham, David
Peters, Tonya
Yang, Yumei and Guo, Zhi
Peterson, Dr. Deborah
Young, Enlighta and Mok, Matthew
Phung-Lan, Ann and Lan, Sam Chiu-Wai
Yu, YanYang and Goh, Lian Hai
Price, Dr. Madeleine and Cameron
Anonymous, (3)
Ruyton Foundation 2020 Foundation Impact Report
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ruyton girls ’ school
12 Selbourne Road Kew VIC 3101 Australia Tel +61 3 9819 2422 www.ruyton.vic.edu.au 10
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