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Message From the CEO
Doncare is a very exciting place to be, the very heartbeat of Doncare is the services we provide to our community on a daily basis, our dedicated staff and volunteers all of whom share compassion for their community, many of whom are our most vulnerable, fragile and disadvantaged.The majority of Doncare services are delivered by our volunteers, they are our most valuable asset and the life blood of the organisation. Volunteers work in all of our programs, in all of our Opportunity Shops and on our Board of Management - without them Doncare would not exist. The past three years has seen a significant growth in funding as a result of an increase of funding submissions to Philanthropic Trusts and the opening of our fifth Opportunity Shop. All of the Doncare Op Shops are thriving and provide funds to support the most vulnerable, marginalised and disadvantaged in our community. Doncare is part of a consortium of Manningham agencies who are working together to streamline volunteer recruitment, training and retention for the City of Manningham. Many opportunities exist for those who want to help themselves by helping others. This project is funded by the State Government under the Community Sector Investment Fund, the consortium have developed a website www.vim.org.au for the community to access which will provide information and training for all volunteer opportunities. We continue to seek funding for the Hands on Parenting Support program which has operated for the past nine years without any recurrent funding, which means that each year we struggle to attract grants to maintain this very important program for families. Despite the challenges of finding funds the Family Services programs continue to flourish, we have now introduced parent education group workshops and training and are proud of our commitment to early intervention programs that support families. As CEO, I would like to thank our major donors and funding bodies: Manningham City Council, Department of Human Services, Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, the Philanthropic Trusts and Foundations, and all other donors to Doncare. Finally I would like to sincerely thank the Doncare Board, Volunteers, Managers and Staff who by working together every day make a difference to the lives of others. Doreen Stoves PSM |
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