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FOUNDATION BOARD
Impact
Living Generously – Our Scholarship Program
It has always been central to the values of Perth College that we should live generously and contribute to our community with integrity, respect and compassion. The Foundation’s Scholarship Program is a critical element which supports these values and it is always a delight to be able to report the expansion of our program year on year with the Foundation funding 19 Scholarships in 2021. The number of scholarships awarded by the Foundation is obviously dependent on the willingness of our community to donate specifically to our Scholarship Fund and the graphs in the Finance section of this Report demonstrate the continuing interest by our community in supporting our Scholarship Program which is then able to be augmented by positive investment performance.
During the year the Foundation joined forces with the Old Girls’ Association to establish the OGA Heritage Scholarship which is open to the daughters or granddaughters of Old Girls. Additionally, the Foundation has been fortunate in receiving support from long term donors, Joan and George Lefroy, for the funding of bursaries for Indigenous students through the Ngala Yakiny Moorditz (We Stand Strong) Bursary. Each of these are funded for enrolments in 2022 and 2023.
2021 was a special year for the funding of boarding scholarships. The Foundation was also approached by long time supporters who chose to donate anonymously a significant sum to assist rural based families as they are only too well aware of the additional cost impost on country families who are required to send their children away to access quality education. The first recipient enrolled under the auspices of this bursary commenced in 2022 and the funding shall provide for scholarships over a number of years.
As a matter of good governance the Foundation also undertook a review of its funding scholarship model during 2021 and we are pleased to be able to report the enhancement of the program by the establishment of a new Anne Cranston Perpetual Rural Student Scholarship and the conversion of the Wulili Scholarship into the Foundation’s “signature” Indigenous Student Scholarship with Perpetual status. We are therefore delighted to be able to profile each of the generous donors who have endowed these scholarships which will benefit students far into the future.
1939
Students
Anne Cranston or ‘Crano’ as she was so fondly known by her closest friends hailed from Kalgoorlie, attended Perth College as a Boarder from 1963 to 1967 and always considered her school days some of the happiest times of her life. Anne made a significant donation to the Perth College Foundation some years before her death. Her generosity has been recognised by naming the upper level of Perth College’s Excelsior House ‘The Cranston Gallery’ and the Foundation has also established The Anne Cranston Perpetual Rural Student Scholarship as access to quality education for rural based girls was always of concern to Anne.
This Scholarship will be awarded for the first time in 2023 to a student who is entering the School in Years 7 to 11 as a Boarder.
A gift that goes on giving. The Anne Cranston Perpetual Rural Student Scholarship celebrates the legacy of a Perth College girl who became a remarkable woman.
2022 Scholarship Award Giving
Recipients of 2022 scholarships gathered with their families at Myalla House in mid-October 2021 to share the considerable achievement of being awarded a much sought-after scholarship to attend Perth College. It was a very happy occasion with some families travelling thousands of kilometres to celebrate with their daughters.
The Perth College community may recall that the Wulili Scholarship was established in 2018 by the Ethell family as a legacy of Jenny Ethell’s time as Principal of the School and a desire to make a difference. In particular Jenny indicated that she would like the scholarship to provide Indigenous girls with the benefit of a Perth College education and to become inspirational role models for others.
In demonstrating its commitment to the continuing education of Indigenous girls at Perth College, the Board took the decision during 2021 to convert the Wulili Scholarship to perpetual status and it will become our ongoing signature Indigenous Student Scholarship. Importantly this has been made possible by augmenting the Wulili Scholarship corpus with a significant donation made some time ago by a wonderful supporter who has recently expressed a desire that the funds be allocated to this perpetual scholarship. In contacting the Ethell family to advise of the Foundation’s decision, Jenny commented:
“It was humbling and exciting to hear from the Chair of Perth College Foundation, Mrs Karen Field that the Wulili Scholarship had attracted such strong additional support from the PC community to become a perpetual scholarship and will enable future generations of young indigenous women to benefit from a PC education. It is a dream come true!”
Jenny and Dougall Ethell
... and in a student’s own words
Amongst those awarded a scholarship in 2020 for enrolment in 2021 is Somy (Chisomembi) Eze. Somy is from Carnarvon and started as a PC boarder in 2021 as a Lefroy Scholarship recipient. Somy has agreed to share her uplifting story and confirms for all of us the significant and lasting impact that a Perth College Foundation Scholarship has for girls like Somy and their families.
The Perth College Foundation Scholarship has significantly impacted my schooling life. In 2020, I received the Joan and George Lefroy Foundation Scholarship for 2021–2023. Before I came to Perth College (PC), I lived in Carnarvon and attended the local school. The school was okay, and the teachers were dedicated. However, by the time I got to Year 8, it was quite apparent to me and my parents that I needed a more academically challenging environment and quality education to achieve my future goals. I desired to experience diverse sports activities, clubs, leadership programs, subject variety, strong community, opportunities for lifelong friendship, life-skills etc as part of my education. The only problem was that my parents were not financially able to support this dream. Thankfully, I applied for a scholarship and was granted one in Year 10. After my arrival in 2021 commencing Year 10, it was very difficult for me. The gap between my former school and PC was like day and night! I was overwhelmed with all the resources the school had to offer. I am grateful for the support from my teachers and the boarding community and now I have become more independent, more studious, and more involved in my community. Various mentoring and leadership programs at the school such as sparc and Burn Bright have encouraged me to try new things and experiment with the different resources, both in the Boarding House and the School. I did unfamiliar courses such as Design, Textile, Video Bling and gained some invaluable skills. My teachers are approachable and highly experienced. I am getting on top of my academics. Every day, I genuinely feel that I am becoming more skilful and smarter due to participating in school activities, doing community service, and trying to balance my study life. Although it has been challenging in this high achieving school, I have enjoyed immense support from the school community. I am confident that my future goals are achievable because I am here at PC, and I am determined to persevere in achieving great results with this new life that I have. I am so grateful to have received this scholarship as it has changed my life forever and I thank God and the Perth College Foundation for providing me with this opportunity.
SOMY (CHISOMEMBI) EZE
1940
Personnel of the Australian Women’s Army Service attached to 3rd Australian Corps Headquarters
2021 Annual Giving Appeal
When the Foundation distributed its 2021 Annual Appeal information in May 2021, the community was reminded that this annual fundraiser had been suspended in 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19. Our wonderfully generous community certainly answered our call for support and the Foundation was especially delighted that 2021 saw the best ever results with a total of $68,475 being raised.
Details of the donations resulting from the 2021 appeal are illustrated in the following infographic.
2021
TOTAL AMOUNT RAISED $68,475
49
TOTAL NUMBER OF DONORS
TOTAL FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND TOTAL FOR THE BUILDING FUND TOTAL FOR THE GENERAL FUND
