For Who They Can Become

www.maristc.act.edu.au

For Who They Can Become Support the formation of young men in your will, through a Marist education that nurtures potential, dignity, and purpose.

Contents 3

Investing in Young Lives

4

Why Marist College Canberra?

5

Why Bursaries?

6

The Role of the Foundation

7

Christine Robertson’s Legacy

8

Beyond the School Gates

9

Your Legacy

10

A Lasting Impact

For Who They Can Become | Marist College Canberra Foundation

Investing in Young Lives Since 1968, Marist College Canberra has helped thousands of young men grow into confident, capable and compassionate individuals.

We believe in nurturing the whole person, forming strong minds and gentle hearts, through an education grounded in the values of presence, simplicity, family spirit, love of work, and the example of Mary. These values underpin everything we do: from learning in the classroom, to camaraderie on the field, and service in the wider community.

Many of our students flourish because someone believed in them. A bequest to the Marist College Canberra Foundation is a powerful way to pass on that belief. It is a way to invest in young lives and ensure that the opportunity of a Marist education remains within reach of students who need it most.

Many of our students flourish because someone believed in them.

A bequest is a way to pass on that belief.

03

Why Marist College Canberra?

At the heart of a Marist education is the legacy of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a French priest who, in the early 1800s, founded the Marist Brothers to educate and care for young people, especially those most in need. He saw the dignity and potential in every child and believed that to educate a young person well, you must first love them.

Brother Mark May lived out this mission with quiet strength and deep compassion from the very beginnings of Marist College Canberra. His belief in supporting boys doing it tough and helping every student feel seen, known and valued, was a direct expression of Champagnat’s vision.

That legacy lives on at the school today, where we strive to form young men of strong minds and gentle hearts. By leaving a bequest to the College, you become part of this story, extending Champagnat’s vision into the future and creating a legacy of your own, one that opens doors, changes lives, and strengthens our community for generations to come.

Two hundred years ago, the founder of the Marist Brothers, St Marcellin Champagnat, claimed his core work was 'to produce good Christians and good citizens.' This remains the goal for Marist College Canberra as there are few responsibilities as crucial to our society as the preparation of young people for life in today’s world. A Marist education provides boys with a spiritual compass while accompanying boys in their restless search for meaning, where they can find God, and where the religious journey is an attractive one. - Matthew Hutchison, Headmaster

For Who They Can Become | Marist College Canberra Foundation

Nurturing Potential Why Bursaries?

At Marist College Canberra, we believe in nurturing potential, not just rewarding achievement. That’s why we offer bursaries rather than scholarships. While scholarships recognise students who already excel, bursaries respond to need, giving boys the chance to grow in confidence, discover their strengths, and realise who they might become. Sometimes that transformation happens in Year 7, sometimes not until long after graduation. But without support, that spark might never ignite.

The Br Mark May Bursary Fund exists to provide that opportunity. Entirely donorfunded, it enables boys from families experiencing hardship to access a Marist education. These bursaries uphold dignity, embrace diversity, and strengthen our community by bringing in students whose presence enriches us all. And this impact on community continues long after their time with us. As Headmaster Matthew Hutchison says, “We offer bursaries not because we know what a boy will achieve, but because we believe in who he can become.”

Why We Need Your Help Your Gift Makes a Difference Our community is committed to providing bursaries for students whose families are experiencing financial hardship. These are not scholarships awarded on merit, but practical support based on need, offered with dignity, discretion and compassion.

A gift in your Will helps us: Provide life-changing support to families in need Offer access to an education that nurtures character, confidence, and connection Create a diverse and inclusive student community that reflects the broader society Support the formation of young men, helping them realise their potential and carry Marist values into their families, communities, and the world By joining this effort, you are creating opportunities for young men to grow into thoughtful, engaged citizens ready to make a positive contribution to society.

05

The Brother Mark May Bursary Fund

The Role of the Foundation

The Brother Mark May Bursary Fund

The Marist College Canberra

sits at the heart of our bursary program.

Foundation plays a vital role in

Named in honour of one of the

protecting the integrity of the Brother

College’s most loved and respected

Mark May Bursary Fund. It is

leaders, the fund reflects a commitment

responsible for the careful stewardship

to inclusion, equity and support for

of all donations and bequests, ensuring

those who need it.

that the bursary corpus is invested wisely, grown sustainably, and used in

Through this fund and other named

strict accordance with the purpose for

sub-funds, we can support students

which it was established. With strong

from all walks of life: from First Nations

governance and financial oversight, the

backgrounds, refugee families, students

Foundation safeguards donor intent and

living with a disability or families facing

ensures the long-term impact of bursary

unexpected challenges.

support for generations to come.

For Who They Can Become | Marist College Canberra Foundation

Christine’s Legacy Christine Robertson was a beloved

Christine’s own life was shaped by the same

teacher, colleague, mentor and friend at

spirit. A Commonwealth Scholarship student

Marist College Canberra for more than

herself, she was the first in her family to finish

three decades. Affectionately known to

high school and go to university. From a young

generations of students as “Robbo”, she

age, she worked part-time jobs, studied hard,

brought humour, rigour and humanity to

and made things happen. She never asked for

everything she did. But perhaps her

the spotlight, but she noticed everything, cared

greatest gift to the College came after her

deeply, and always found a way to help.

passing when her bequest helped fund the

Whether that meant working late with a

support for students from refugee families,

struggling student, supporting colleagues, or

offered through the Brother Mark May

helping her neighbours or parish community in

Bursary Fund as the Christine Robertson

retirement, Christine quietly showed what it

Refugee Bursary.

means to live a life of purpose.

Christine believed deeply in education as

Through her bequest, Christine’s impact

a force for good, not just for academic

continues, not just in memory, but in action. Her

achievement, but for forming decent,

story reminds us that planned gifts, large or

compassionate young men. She had a

small, can express our passions and create

sharp eye for a student’s potential, and an

lasting change. For Christine, it meant

even sharper one for excuses. She

supporting young people from refugee

expected a lot of the boys, because she

backgrounds to find their place and flourish at

believed in what they could become. With

Marist. For others, a gift in their will might

her strong sense of social justice and her

honour a teacher, continue a family connection,

own background shaped by hard work and

or help future students access the same

opportunity, Christine took a particular

opportunities they once had.

interest in making sure support was there for boys who needed it.

Christine’s generosity will be felt for years to come,

The refugee scholarship now supported

not only in bursaries

through her bequest does just that,

awarded, but in the values

opening the doors of a Marist education to

those boys will carry into

students who have often overcome

the world.

incredible hardship just to arrive in Australia. It is a legacy that captures Christine’s values: fairness, inclusion, generosity and belief in the power of education to change lives.

Christine Robertson

1/7 07

Beyond the School Gates A Legacy that Spreads A Marist education is not only an investment in the student - it is an investment in the world that student will shape.

When you support bursaries, you are helping to develop young men who will carry Marist values into every part of society: into classrooms and courtrooms, boardrooms and backyards, hospitals, construction sites, community centres and playing fields. Wherever they go, they bring with them the integrity, compassion and purpose they formed here.

Your legacy doesn’t end at graduation. It lives on in the actions these young men take, the people they help and love, and the communities they strengthen.

For Who They Can Become | Marist College Canberra Foundation

Your Legacy Choose How You Give Leaving a bequest to the Marist College Canberra Foundation is a deeply personal and enduring way to make a difference. It affirms your values and ensures that your generosity lives on through the lives of others.

You may choose to direct your bequest to: • The Brother Mark May Bursary Fund for support where it is most needed, or one of these sub-funds: Old Boys Bursary Christine Robertson Refugee Bursary Rona and Arthur Boyd Special Education Bursary Indigenous Students Bursary Whatever form it takes, your bequest will be used to extend opportunities and remove barriers, for today’s students and tomorrow’s.

Recognising your Contribution

More than a Gift Suggested Bequest Wording Your will is a deeply personal document that reflects your own intentions and circumstances.

We recommend that you speak to your solicitor about the best way to include the Marist College Canberra Foundation. The wording below may assist: “I bequeath to the Marist College Canberra Foundation (ABN 33 992 563 028 check) of Marr Street, Pearce, ACT 2607, the sum of $______ (or __% of my estate/residuary estate) to be used for the purposes of providing bursary support through the Brother Mark May Bursary Fund (or other nominated sub-fund), and I declare that the receipt of the Foundation Chair or authorised officer shall be sufficient discharge to my Executor.”

The Foundation will be happy to speak with you or your solicitor to ensure your intentions can be honoured.

While the College’s bequest program is primarily focused on supporting bursaries for students in need, we understand that some

When you notify us of a bequest, you are

benefactors may feel a special connection to

invited to become part of our community

the buildings and facilities that shape student

of supporters. While some prefer to remain

life. If you are interested in directing your gift to

anonymous, others choose to be

support capital works such as the development

acknowledged through College

of learning spaces, sporting facilities, or other

publications or events. Knowing your

infrastructure, we would be pleased to speak

intentions enables us to thank you for your

with you about how your legacy can help

gift in your lifetime in ways that are

strengthen the College’s physical foundations

meaningful for you – whether that be by

for generations to come.

sharing news about the bursaries and the work of the Foundation, welcoming you to the College in person or caring for your relationship to the school and its work.

09

A Quiet Gift.

A Lasting Impact.

Thank you for considering a gift to the Marist College Canberra Foundation. Your bequest will change lives and leave a lasting legacy.

It will help form fine young men who are ready to lead with integrity, act with empathy, and contribute with confidence. Men with strong minds and gentle hearts, just like those that Marist College Canberra has been forming for more than 50 years.

It is a gift that truly continues giving, far beyond the College gates as they take these qualities into a world that needs them.

To confidentially discuss your intentions or request further information, please contact: Marist College Canberra Foundation Marr Street, Pearce ACT 2607 Phone: 02 6298 7200 Email: foundation@mcc.act.edu.au Website: https://maristcfoundation.org.au/ Or Marist College Canberra Christina Gilmour, Director of Advancement.

Phone: 02 6298 7218 Mobile: 0423 783 848 Email: christinagilmour@mcc.act.edu.au

For Who They Can Become | Marist College Canberra Foundation

Together, we can share the opportunity for every Marist boy to reach his full potential.

Stay in touch Christina Gilmour Director of Advancement christinagilmour@mcc.act.edu.au 02 6298 7218 Marist College Canberra Foundation 27 Marr St Pearce ACT 2607 www.maristcfoundation.org.au

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