VIP11 Insider, RSL Art Union

INSIDER

APRIL 2020 ART UNION VIP 11

EXCLUSIVE VIP MEMBERS ONLY

$1.9 MILLION GOLD VIP HEROES DRAW T I C K E T S O N LY $ 5

TRUDI LINES INVICTUS GAMES GOLD-MEDALLIST AND AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE VETERAN

Your membership matters.

Thank you for supporting Australia’s veterans and their families.

MESSAGE FROM OUR

ART UNION CHAIRMAN

John Strachan OAM Chairman RSL Art Union

Dear valued VIP member, We are proud to bring you the VIP Heroes Draw, exclusively offering you the chance to win $1.9 million in gold.

The Heroes Draw is part of the $4.46 million worth of extra prizes exclusive to you, our valued VIP member. It also offers you the best odds of winning as it’s exclusive to VIP members and extra tickets are not available to purchase.

Could you be our next winner? Keep your phone close on the 20th May! You can read about our latest Heroes Draw winner on page 7.

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This Heroes Draw is dedicated to Trudi Lines, a veteran of the Australian Air Force, who was discharged in 2017 after almost 14 years of service.

Suffering physical injuries, as well as PTSD, as a result of her deployments, Trudi faced a challenging time as she transitioned back to civilian life.

After connecting with Mates4Mates in Townsville, Trudi has been supported by fellow veterans going through a similar experience. Through Mates4Mates she has been able to take part in equine therapy, the East Coast of Australia trek and much more. She also represented Australia at the Invictus Games where she won gold! Through Mates4Mates, Trudi has been able to rebuild her life and feel strong again.

of dollars for organisations, such as Mates4Mates, providing physical and psychological rehabilitation to both veterans and their families.

Thank you again for your support.

We hope you enjoy reading this special edition of the Insider and wish you the best of luck in this exclusive VIP-only draw.

John Strachan OAM Chairman RSL Art Union

You can read about Trudi’s story in your VIP Insider or visit www.rslartunion.com.au/VIP11 Thanks to your continued support as a VIP member, our VIP Heroes Draws have helped raise millions

Draw day: 10am AEST Wednesday 20 May 2020

VIP HEROES DRAW VIP 11 VIP04

VIP07

VIP09

VIP 10

Trudi Lines | Australian Air Force veteran

Every year, RSL Art Union rewards its VIP customers with two exclusive VIP draws – our ‘Heroes Draws’. These special draws help to fund national RSL initiatives, including organisations such as Mates4Mates, by helping to fund the growing demand for their services. This Heroes Draw is dedicated to Trudi Lines and her road to recovery.

VIP04 | Pennie Looker

VIP07 | Ashlea Henley

VIP09 | Curtis McGrath

VIP10 | Josh Pratt

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TRUDI LINES | AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE VETERAN

TRUDI’S STORY Trudi Lines enlisted in the Australian Air Force in 2003, inspired by her grandfather, who was an RAAF bomber pilot in WWII. Trudi’s defence force career spanned almost 14 years, during which time she worked in logistics, as an aircraft engineer and as an electrician. She was also deployed overseas to multiple locations,

T R U D I & H E R G R A N D FAT H E R

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including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Thailand, East Timor and twice to Afghanistan. Among the highlights of her service she describes her biggest accomplishment as the chance to make her Nana and Pop proud, as well as receiving the Australia Day medallion and medals for her deployments to Afghanistan.

However, the deployments eventually took their toll on Trudi, both mentally and physically. The gruelling physical nature of deployment saw her suffer from injuries to her neck, back, knees, ankle and shoulder. It was these physical injuries that led to her discharge in 2017. The mental impact her service took didn’t become apparent until further down the track, when she began suffering the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“They cut the cord and that’s it, you’re out” Trudi describes the adjustment to life after the military as “challenging to accept”. After almost 14 years in the defence force, she felt the loss of the mateship and the support of being in a team environment; being cut off from her close network of mates, she was faced with having to define a new identity as a civilian.

This led to a period of uncertainty for Trudi; although she describes her struggle with PTSD as “manageable”, she found that the stigma attached to PTSD made it difficult to find employment. After seeing an advertisement, she decided to visit the Mates4Mates centre in Townsville, on a day when she was feeling “quite low”.

“I’ll actually be forever grateful for that day” After taking the brave first step to connect with Mates4Mates, not knowing anyone there, Trudi met Holly, a Mates4Mates liaison officer, who helped her access the range of support services on offer. For Trudi, the most important thing has been finding a new support network of veterans and friends who can understand what she has been through – for her, attending Mates4Mates “feels like home”.

Trudi has been able to participate in a range of sports and activities that have given her the chance to once again be part of a team. She has embraced the opportunities, so far taking part in equine therapy, the East Coast of Australia trek - which she has since become a fundraiser for, and regularly attends the gym and PT circuits.

M AT E S 4 M AT E S C E N T R E I N T O W N S V I L L E

With the support of Mates4Mates, Trudi has been able to continue to rebuild her life outside the defence force. She says, “it’s been a process to get back to a place where I’m strong”, but she can now enjoy some of her passions, including playing Women’s AFL, wakeboarding, keeping fit and has been able to start studying engineering and take on some jobs as an electrician.

“Thank you, I’m so grateful to everything you provided to me and other veterans” Although she didn’t think she could apply, Holly also encouraged Trudi to try out for the Invictus Games, where she was accepted and participated in wheelchair tennis and wheelchair rugby, winning a gold medal.

“I’ve had so many opportunities that I never would have had if it wasn’t for Mates4Mates”, Trudi says.

“From when I first went to Mates4Mates to now I have been blown away with everything they provide to help you get back on your feet. They helped me get to a much better place.”

It is your ongoing support of RSL Art Union that helps us provide valuable services, such as Mates4Mates, to help veterans like Trudi.

Watch Trudi’s interview at rslartunion.com.au/VIP11 5

OVER $40 MILLION IN PRIZES THIS YEAR! As a VIP Club member, you have more chances to win!

Your exclusive VIP member benefits:

Two yearly $1.9M gold draws

Bonus weekly $5k draws

Bonus quarterly $100k draws

Plus exclusive prize information and sneak peeks!

PLUS, guaranteed tickets into all 10 prize home draws!

That’s $4.46 MILLION worth of exclusive VIP draws every year! RSL Art Union – there’s nothing like it.

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All draws subject to State & Territory licensing approval. Terms & conditions apply. Find out more at www.rslartunion.com.au

Could you be our next VIP Heroes winner?

VIP10 WINNER It was December 24th when we made the call that would make one lucky VIP’s Christmas one to remember! We were thrilled to be able to share the news with Carol*, a single mother of two children, who is now $1,800,000 million in gold bullion richer.

And the good news keeps coming; thanks to her purchase of a $30 book each month, Carol also received $55,000 in gold as a book buyers bonus prize.

After supporting the RSL Art Union since late 2018, Carol was thrilled to with the news and will be making the most of her lifechanging win which will go a long way for her and her children.

We wish Carol all the best for the future and would like to say a big thank you to all of our VIP supporters, your continued support enables the RSL to provide much-needed assistance to Australia’s veterans and their families. *Names changed for privacy reasons.

Keep your phone close on 20 May as it could be you getting the next call!

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COLLECTION

NOW OPEN

PRE-ORDER

PRE-ORDER

DRAW 375

D R AW 376

D R AW 37 7

$6 MILLION PALM BEACH APARTMENT COMPLEX

$2.4 MILLION SUNSHINE TRIFECTA PROPERTY PORTFOLIO

$4.8 MILLION* BROADBEACH WATERFRONT VILLAS

Our mid-year Golden Treasure is only the beginning!

Imagine owning a penthouse plus four apartments.

Win an instant property portfolio with an apartment in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

Good things come in threes: you could win 3 x 3 level luxury homes on the Gold Coast!

SECURE YOUR TICKETS FOR ALL THREE DRAWS TODAY! VISIT RSLARTUNION.COM.AU Terms and Conditions apply. *subject to State/Territory licensing approval

Australia 1300 775 847 (1300 RSL VIP) New Zealand 0800 450 970 International +61 7 3088 5878 E: vip@rslartunion.com.au • www.rslartunion.com.au/VIPClub

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VIP Heroes Draw 11 (VIP11L) is conducted by Returned & Services League of Australia (Queensland Branch) ABN 79 902 601 713 of ANZAC House, 283 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 under QLD Licence No. 29819 and ACT Permit No. R20/00009. VIC Permit No. 10133/20, NSW Permit No. GOCAU/2281, SA Permit No. M13843. Close date: 8pm (AEST) Wed 13/05/20. Draw Date: Public draw 10am (AEST) Wed 20/05/20 at ANZAC House, 283 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Promoter: John Strachan, Locked Bag 4032, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Proceeds are for the purpose of veteran welfare and support in Australia. 1st prize $1,900,000 gold bullion. The maximum number of tickets is 2,450,000,which may include a maximum of 514,500 bonus tickets. Winners notified by Registered Mail. Results published on Fri 22/05/20 in Courier Mail, The Australian, www.rslartunion.com.au . Selling costs and market variations apply when selling gold bullion. Some items shown in pictures are for display purposes only. To be entered into VIP Heroes Draw 11, an entrant must be an active VIP member as at 12.01am (AEST) on draw open date (15/04/20), have a valid entry in VIP11 and be 18 years of age or over. Sales agents have been appointed by RSL Art Union for the sale of VIP memberships, which they may receive a commission based contribution between 0.1% and 4.7% of the total gross proceeds from each art union draw, depending on the sales agent, as amended from time to time. Information is correct at time of printing. Terms and Conditions apply. Please refer to our website for up to date details, and Terms and Conditions at www.rslartunion.com.au