Fundraising and Community Engagement Report

Fundraising and Community Engagement Report

Stephanie Tucker

Philanthropy and Donor Relations Manager

As an independent, non-profit organisation, The Bays relies on the generosity of our community to help us achieve our mission to provide exceptional, personalised care. We are extremely grateful to our incredible donors, community groups, members and volunteers who have chosen The Bays as their charity. Our sincere thanks go to everyone in our community for their continued dedication and support.

It’s been a big year with donations, fundraising and memberships contributing $497,284 to our organisation. There has been overwhelming support for our Cancer Care Centre, including a very successful tax appeal, Buy a Virtual Brick for Cancer Care, which saw $103,000 raised. We have now reached a total of $1.25 million for Stage One of our Cancer Care Centre, and we are excited to continue raising funds and reach our target of $5 million for Stage One, enabling us to bring radiation therapy services closer to home.

Members play a vital role in our organisation, contributing not only financially but also being advocates for The Bays and representing our community’s voice at our Annual General Meeting (AGM). We had a total of 667 Members in the year, contributing just over $33,000 which has enabled us to invest in hospitals beds, ensuring patient stays are as comfortable as possible.

Our volunteers continue to inspire us. The dedication and passion of our 77 volunteers across the year fuelled our mission, often going above and beyond to help us create ‘The Bays difference’. By offering their time (8,672 hours across the year!), skills, and energy, volunteers help to stretch limited resources. They also help to build a sense of community, and support us in achieving our mission of providing exceptional, personalised care to our community.

Donations, community fundraisers, grants, gift shop and Artcare sales from individuals, community groups, trusts and foundations, and corporate partners reached just over $464,000 across the year. This is incredible, especially with the challenges we face with the cost of living.

Donations this year allowed us to:

• purchase vital equipment such as the Alaris Nexus PK syringe pump, which administers medication or fluids directly into a patient's bloodstream
• purchase a SOZO machine, for early monitoring and detection of cancer-related lymphoedema
• purchase ward beds ensuring extra comfort for our patients
• support our Cancer Care Centre
• continue to provide education and training for our clinical staff through our Nursing and Midwifery Education Program, with thanks to founding partner, Mornington Rotary Club.

Further to this, so many wonderful individuals, community groups and partners supported our fundraising initiatives through spreading the word with their networks, family and friends. This contributed greatly to the success of our fundraising and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Thank you to the wonderful support from our community through both financial and non-financial contributions. We hope you enjoy reading some of the exciting things that happened across the year, as well as some wonderful stories from our donor community!

Bays Volunteer and philanthropic supporter awarded honorary Life Membership

Long-standing volunteer and philanthropic supporter of The Bays, Claire Routledge, was awarded honorary Life Membership of The Bays Healthcare Group.

Claire has made an outstanding contribution to The Bays, volunteering for more than 10 years in our gift shop, and now continuing on as a knitter. Her generous donations have also made a considerable impact, enabling us to purchase vital medical equipment including for our new Cancer Care Centre.

Claire’s family have a long history with The Bays stretching back to its beginning in 1937, when it was affectionately known as ‘The Bush’. Claire’s late husband Wayne was born in Mornington in 1935 in a house in Tanti Avenue, which was called The Cottage Hospital.

Wayne’s father Dale Routledge, together with other business people in the town saw the need for a better local hospital, and they formed a committee to work towards this end. Dale was one of the original locals who fundraised for the hospital to be built, and served as secretary for a year from 1938-1939.

Wayne spent the last week of his life at The Bays Hospital, and Claire said he was cared for so well that she wanted to give back in his memory. A plaque featuring Wayne’s name was placed on the piece of equipment that was purchased with her donation.

We thank Claire for her extraordinary contribution and commitment to The Bays.