Nelson Alexander Foundation Day 2017

Nelson Alexander’s Foundation Day is almost here again!

We are proud to announce that it will be held on Saturday 27th May 2017.

What is Foundation Day?

Nelson Alexander’s Foundation Day is the day that we do something special! It’s the day that each of our sixteen offices donates the professional fee from one of their auctions to a chosen local charity, making it our major annual fundraiser.

How did Foundation Day start?

Foundation Day is an initiative of the Nelson Alexander Charitable Foundation, which was established, and continues to be managed by staff – maximising their participation in community service and fundraising events for worthwhile local causes.

Since its inception in 2005, the Nelson Alexander Charitable Foundation has been a resounding success and has distributed over $2 million dollars to our local community.

 

 

Wingate Avenue Community Centre

Office: Ascot Vale
Auction Property: 13 Victory Parade, Ascot Vale

Wingate Avenue Community Centre (WACC) was established in 1985 on a public housing estate in Ascot Vale which is home to approximately 1,700 residents.  The centre is managed by a voluntary Committee of Management and employs over 50 staff and 50+ volunteers.

Wingate’s mission is to enable positive community wellbeing with a focus on learning and social activities, especially for people who are experiencing disadvantage.   They believe such a commitment will lead to improvement in quality of life and empowerment for the local community.

Brunswick Kindergarten

Office: Brunswick
Auction Property: 32 Holloway Road, Brunswick

Brunswick Kindergarten, established in 1929 is a not-for-profit kindergarten, run by the parent community. It provides a stimulating learning environment for 170 three to five year olds from a range of local families, including many from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Foundation Day funds will be utilised to finance major renovations to the facilities.

Koala Kids

Office: Carlton North
Auction Property: 648 Drummond Street, Carlton North

Koala Kids is a volunteer-driven organisation that provides the small things that make a difference to lives of children and young people (birth to 25 years) in cancer treatment and their families.

They provide therapeutic resources and entertaining activities to engage and distract people in Children’s Cancer Centres at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and nine regional hospitals in Victoria.

Moreland Primary School

Office: Coburg
Auction Property: 83 The Grove, Coburg

Moreland Primary School, located in Coburg, a school of approximately 330 students comprising around 19 nationalities, speaking 23 different languages. The funds will enable a group of year 5 & 6 students to participate in the RACV energy breakthrough challenge.

The challenge aims to provide students with a real world project, to work together to design and construct a human powered vehicle that will represent an energy breakthrough, improving their knowledge of both environmental and current day transport issues.

Mission Australia – Synergy Programme

Office: Commercial

Synergy Auto Repairs is a social enterprise smash repair workshop based in North Melbourne. Synergy was established in 2014 by Mission Australia, in partnership with Suncorp and the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council.

Synergy offers a full suite of smash repair services, while providing on-the-job training and work experience for marginalised youth; notably young people who have had trouble with the law. The program harnesses participants’ interest in cars and aims to help them build a career in a field that matches their interests.

The Big Umbrella – A Real Meal

Office: Docklands

Based in the Docklands Community Hub, the Big Umbrella is committed to the mission of providing food to the homeless of Melbourne.

A Real Meal, is Melbourne’s only on street soup station run wholly by volunteers; “We feed anyone who is hungry”. In the last 6 years, they have served over 95,000 hot meals to the homeless communities of Melbourne.

Essendon Primary School – Welfare Program

Office: Essendon
Auction Property: 91A Roberts St, Essendon

Essendon Primary School‘s Welfare Program benefits many local families who are experiencing financial hardship.

The program has been put in place to assist those who require support for school fees, excursions, books and extracurricular activities.

Refugee Legal

Office: Fitzroy
Auction Property: 15 Caroline Street, Clifton Hill

Refugee Legal is an independent community legal centre specialising in refugee and immigration law, policy and practice. Located in Collingwood, they have been assisting asylum seekers, refugees and disadvantaged migrants in the community and in detention for over 27 years and have substantial casework experience and expertise.

Their work involves provision of key legal assistance to people who could not otherwise obtain it due to financial and other forms of distinct disadvantage often related to their cultural or linguistically diverse backgrounds. Refugee Legal have a long history of engaging volunteers in the delivery of free vital legal assistance and will use Foundation Day funding to purchase much needed IT equipment and infrastructure to better utilise those who volunteer each week.

McAuley Community Services for Women

Office: Flemington
Auction Property: 8 John Street, Flemington

McAuley Community Services for Women provide much needed services for women and their children who are escaping family violence, and for women who are homeless.

Following in the footsteps of Catherine McAuley – foundress of the Sisters of Mercy – they offer both crisis and longer term accommodation, vital employment services, social and recreational support and children’s services.

Kalparrin

Office: Greensborough
Auction Property: 139 Yallambie Road, Macleod 

Kalparrin‘s mission is to support children with additional needs to reach their full potential. They aim to provide the children and their families with the skills, knowledge and support needed to optimise the developmental opportunities and potential of each child.

Formed in 1974, when three mothers of children with disabilities decided that they and their children would benefit from regular meetings with each other, gaining both comfort and support and an opportunity to share their experiences.

Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute – Thoracic Cancer Research Lab 

Office: Ivanhoe
Auction Property: 1/47 Wilfred Road, Ivanhoe East

The Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute is integrated within the ONJ Centre, located in Heidelberg. The researchers and clinicians work together every day to discover and develop research breakthroughs to deliver better health outcomes for patients with cancer.

Children’s Cancer Foundation – The Marcus Rosin Fund 

Office: Keilor East
Auction Property: 55 Erebus Street, Keilor Park

The Children’s Cancer Foundation‘s mission is to enable children with cancer to access the world’s best treatment and support and to build awareness of childhood cancer in the community and within governments. The Children’s Cancer Foundation supports families through treatment, partners with hospitals to deliver clinical excellence and builds world class paediatric cancer clinical research.

Childhood cancer is a disease that impacts the family for life and the Foundation understands the importance to not only support the family during treatment but to invest in clinical research for those that follow.

Ability Works 

Office: Kew
Auction Property: 11A Mary Street, Kew

Ability Works Australia is proud to employ, train and support people with disabilities. They strive to be a dynamic, customer driven, diverse and competitive organisation. They offer a range of employment opportunities for people with disabilities, these include working across manufacturing, packaging and warehousing. Training and support is provided to assist all employees to maximise their potential.

Women’s Information Support & Housing in the North (WISHIN)

Office: Northcote
Auction Property: 203 Separation Street, Northcote

WISHIN is a social change organisation working towards gender equity for all women and children who have experienced homelessness, family violence and related traumas. Foundation Day funding will enable them to help some of the most vulnerable women and children in Melbourne’s north. Their mission is to transform lives of trauma and fear into ones of safety, stability and optimism.

I’m Still Learning

Office: Pascoe Vale
Auction Property: 10 Rainer St, Pascoe Vale South

Mandy lost her husband 3 years ago to cancer and after he died she realised two things. Firstly, how much he did around the house and, secondly, how much she didn’t know about maintaining her home. So she set up a pilot programme called I’m Still Learning with the support of Moreland Council to conduct an 8 week training program for women who had lost partners either through death or separation.

The pilot program is to be conducted at the Glenroy Neighbourhood Learning Centre and will teach women the skills to perform basic home maintenance and remove their reliance on tradespeople to perform these tasks.

Reservoir Neighbourhood House – Autism Therapy & Resource Library

Office: Preston
Auction Property: 26A Young Street, Preston 

The Autism Therapy & Resource Library located at Reservoir Neighbourhood House is for Darebin families who have children on the autism spectrum (or with other long term additional needs) allowing them to access and borrow much needed therapy and skill building resources and sensory toys.

 

 

We look forward to seeing you at one of these properties, helping us to make this Foundation Day our best ever!