GEELONG GRAMMAR FOUNDATION
Exceptional generosity
Bill Ranken Chairman, Geelong Grammar Foundation Your Foundation is I believe, finishing the year on a high note! Our new Executive Director, Tony Bretherton, has arrived. Tony has made a great start. Do please take the opportunity to introduce yourself. Building a very large scholarship fund is one of our goals. Accordingly I am delighted to report that the Hartley Mitchell Scholarship campaign has reached its first goal. This is wonderful news. Thanks to your generosity we have raised cash and pledges of $250,000. As many of you know, Hartley retired recently as Head of Manifold, having previously been Deputy Principal. In an act of exceptional generosity he has provided in his will that on his death his entire estate will be given to the School to endow a scholarship or scholarships for a student of academic merit who might not otherwise have been able to attend the School. This is an inspiring example: Hartley enjoys both his gift and his assets during his lifetime, and when he dies his bequest will be among the largest individual named scholarship funds at the School. Thank you Hartley and thank you everybody who has helped raise the funds. For others who are interested in supporting this scholarship, donations are still very welcome.
Bill Anderson (M’59), current parents Lizanne Knights and Joanna Morrison with Hugh Dixson (Cu’46) at the Biddlecombe Society lunch in Sydney
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Re-energising our bequest fundraising effort is another goal. I am delighted that Neil Robertson (FB’72) has taken on the Chairmanship of the Biddlecombe Society, our bequest society. He has been joined on the Biddlecombe Society committee by current Foundation Board member, Ros Adams (Ritchie, Cl’77), and by our newest Board member, Fiona Ratcliffe (Je’77). And of course Michael Collins Persse remains as President of the Biddlecombe Society. Michael addressed an excellent Biddlecombe Society lunch in Sydney recently. The lunch was hosted by Fiona in the Boardroom at JB Were and attended by 19 guests. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their time and generosity. Bequests have been running at over 50% of our recent donation cash inflows. Thank you to all those members of our community who have remembered the School in their wills, and also to those who are considering doing so. Helping to re-build Timbertop and set up the campus for the next 50 years is another important goal. The D Unit campaign has raised $450,000. Thank you to all our donors. The new D Unit will be built next year. Do visit Timbertop if you have the chance. It is wonderful to see how the essential spirit of the campus has been maintained and improved. Students must still chop wood if they want hot water! Tony Bretherton will be reviewing our Timbertop fundraising plans and I look forward to announcing more details when this review is complete. Campaigns currently in the quiet phase or the planning stage include the Equestrian Centre, Indoor Cricket Centre and Sailing Club. We have had some wonderful leadership pledges and enthusiasm already for these projects, which will proceed when sufficient funds have been pledged. Thank you to all of those who are making donations and volunteering their
valuable time. As many of you know the Foundation supported the introduction of Positive Education with a $1.9 million dollar grant to the School. Many Australian and overseas schools are following our lead, and learning from what we are doing. This is one of the School’s most important strategic initiatives. It aims to help young people be the best they can be, and to help them face life’s challenges. These challenges are significant. The Australian Government’s latest report on the Health and Wellbeing of Young Australians was published in 2007 and is due to be updated in 2011. The report noted that while most young people are doing well, there are areas for improvement. They include: •M ental disorders accounted for nearly 50% of the total disease burden in young people •3 1% of young people drank alcohol in amounts that put them at risk •7 0% and 54% of males of females were not meeting recommended physical activity guidelines These statistics indicate the importance of helping our young people with initiatives like the Positive Education programme. I hope that all our supporters, our donors and members of the Foundation can take much pleasure from supporting the Positive Education programme and all the other projects sponsored by the Foundation. Thank you once again. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Directors and Committee members for their energy, wisdom and enthusiasm over the last 12 months. Please accept my very best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and for a prosperous New Year. Bill Ranken (M’72) Chairman, Geelong Grammar Foundation
Patsy Crummer, Fiona Ratcliffe (Je’77), John B Fairfax AO (M’60) and past parent Kate Anderson at the Biddlecombe Society lunch in Sydney
Michael Collins Persse, President, and Neil Robertson (FB’72), Chairman, at the Biddlecombe Society lunch in Sydney