Newsletter
For those of you who didn’t make the Dinner, you missed a great evening.
We gave Grants to the following students:
- Rebecca Jackson Griffith University B Marine Science
- Benjamin Staker ANU B Music
- Ruby Berry ANU B. Design Arts
- Luke Robbins Uni of NSW B Exercise Phys.
- Jemma Harrison Uni of Canberra B. Social Science
- Amy Gilfeather Uni of Sydney B Arts – Journalism
- Esther Jamieson Charles Sturt University B Education
- Casidhe Rutter Uni of Wollongong B Com/B Law
- Kristy Apps Apprentice at TAFE Carpentry/Joinery
- Rebecca Ciuffetelli Uni of Canberra B Law/B Forensics
One of last year’s Grantees, Madelyn Goss, gave a good seven-minute speech on her first year at University, speaking frankly about her fears, how she solved her problems, and how she coped with life at Uni. In between presentations, split into two groups of five, we had some excellent piano playing by Angela Davies, and singing by Tiana Baranaba.
By the end of the evening we had given out 107 Grants, worth $278,000, since the start of the Foundation in 1994. That meant, of course, that during the evening there was a 100th student.
The celebration of a 100th student was not to be missed, so with the generous help of Betta Electrical, we had a prize of a good laptop computer. With great fanfare, Amy Gilfeather was announced as the winner.
The number of applications was down this year, due, I suspect, to the Gillard Government’s withdrawal of the Youth Allowance from ‘Regional Centres’ like Batemans Bay. Moruya is unaffected, so applications from that postcode increased. However, the quality of the applicants this year was such that we had no problem selecting as many as we could afford.
I have to pay tribute to ANU and the University of Canberra. Each year they fully or partially reimburse the Foundation for Grants given to students destined for those two Universities. It is a generosity that allows us to go that extra mile. I also have to report that because donations have shrivelled considerably, our three partners, - the Soldiers Club, the RSL Sub-Branch, and the Rotary Club of Batemans Bay – have agreed to increase their annual subscriptions. They treat the Foundation most generously, and the community should be grateful.
Whenever you can, please show your support for this community cause.
Peter Wood, Chairman.