St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria Inc.
STAFF
SPECIAL EDITION
AND VOLUNTEERS MEMBERS, SOCIETY FOR PUBLICATION A
Newsletter 251 May-June 2011
2011 Vinnies CEO Sleepout Melbourne's Vinnies CEO Sleepout has hit the mark with 157 CEOs from across Victoria sleeping out on Thursday 16 June 2011 at Etihad Stadium. The event has raised over $523,000 in Victoria while across Australia the Vinnies CEO Sleepout has raised more than $4 million to assist homeless services. There were a number of well-known people who slept out in Melbourne including The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs. We were also fortunate to have our patron, The Hon Alex Chernov AO QC, Governor of Victoria and Mrs Chernov, visit early on Friday morning to thank the participants for sleeping out. This year the income raised will be used for: • Funding the ongoing provision of meals through the Ozanam Meals Service, comprising Ozanam House and Ozanam Community Centre. • Assisting Ozanam Community Centre and Ozanam House to continue to provide hot showers, access to clean clothing and blankets as well as medical, dental and eye-care treatment for the homeless. Melbourne's infamous weather didn’t disappoint with an overnight low of 4ºC and a very cool breeze that circled through Etihad Stadium. Thank you to all our CEOs for participating in Melbourne’s second CEO Sleepout. Donations can still be made online at www.ceosleepout.org.au
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State President’s Update
On Thursday 16 June 2011 the St Vincent de Paul Society hosted its second Vinnies CEO Sleepout in Victoria and I’m pleased to report, it was an outstanding success. Building on last year’s results, 157 CEOs participated raising a total of over $523,000. For Melbourne, this is an increase of 48 CEOs and over $109,000 compared to 2010. Nationally, 1,001 CEOs registered and more than $4 million has been raised so far. Donations are still filtering in through our website www.ceosleepout.org.au The funds raised from this event will assist the Society’s work to tackle the increasing issue of homelessness in our community. A big thank you to all those who took part and braved the biting wind, hard concrete floor and the loud snoring which echoed around Etihad Stadium. I also thank all the sponsors, without you the event would not have been possible or as successful. A special thank you to all those who organised the event and were on hand throughout the night, what a great effort! Comments received from many participating CEOs have been extremely positive and many have already committed to braving the cold once again in 2012. So pencil in next year’s date of 21 June 2012 which coincides with the Winter Solstice. With every good wish Tony Tome State President
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Sharing the facts
This year’s proceedings included a panel discussion on the issues that can contribute to homelessness, such as mental illness, family violence, the cost of living, the impact of addictions such as drug, alcohol and gambling. The panel was facilitated by veteran journalist Barrie Cassidy, host of the ABC’s Insiders program. The panel consisted of John Blewonski, CEO of VincentCare, Cath Smith, CEO of Victorian Council of Social Services, James Farrell, Principal Lawyer at Public Interest Legal Clearing House and Sarah Kahn, Policy Manager at Council for Homeless Persons. The discussion included a Q & A session for the CEOs at the end, and initial feedback from the CEOs is that the session was very informative and thought-provoking.
The morning after...
Our CEOs woke to a cold and rainy Melbourne morning at Etihad Stadium. They shared a breakfast of porridge, muffins and good coffee before being officially thanked and farewelled by The Hon Alex Chernov, AO, QC, Governor of Victoria.
Top Fundraisers for 2011 Congratulations and thank you to all our CEOs for rising to the challenge, sleeping out and raising awareness to the issues of homelessness in Victoria. • • • • •
John Carfi, Mirvac $42,089.00 Adrian Pozzo, Cbus Property $31,990.00 Steve Maher, Urbanedge Homes $21,105.00 Rhys Holleran, Southern Cross Media $15,935.00 Nick Wilson, Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman $15,185.00