Courage to Care BLOG

Sunday 29th August 2010. Although a little time has passed since this date, it was an evening where supporters of Courage to Care were treated to an intimate dinner with special guest Ian Thorpe - one of Australia's most prolific sportsmen.

The swimming champion with nine Olympic Medals to his name (five gold, three silver and one bronze) from two Olympic Games - Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and the holder of 11 Championship titles, breaking 22 world records not to mention his 10 Commonwealth Games gold medals, nine Pan Pacific titles and his still current holding of the Commonwealth record for the 200m and 400m freestyle events plus numerous awards and accolades, joined close to 100 Courage to Care supporters (and sports enthusiasts) for a private dinner at the Nielsen Park Beach House.

The event was organised by Michael Caminer with help from his daughter Nastasja, and MC for the night was the very funny David Smiedt whose musings on his Jewish and South African background plus general observational comedy thoroughly entertained the crowd. Andrew Havas OAM - Courage to Care's Chairman gave a presentation and there was an auction conducted by Simon Feilich for a Scott racing bike generously donated by Sola Sport - the winning bid provided by one very happy Anthony Halas.

As guest speaker, Ian Thorpe captivated the audience (and not just with his athletic frame) as he spoke passionately and humbly about his own humanitarian efforts, most notably his own charity organisation - Ian Thorpe's Fountain for youth which he created and launched in 2000. Being the most "significant thing" he has done in his life (no understatement coming from an Olympic hero) Fountain for youth is an organisation that supports and empowers Indigenous children - the First Australians, through education and improving their health and well being. Supporting those living in great disadvantage and striving to "close the gap" on the inequality suffered by Indigenous Australians, Thorpe was inspiring in his delivery and his conviction ran even deeper as he opened the floor to questions.

Tour Du Jour provided an ambient musical accompaniment for the evening and the event concluded around 10pm.     

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Courage to Care has created a new blog to keep all supporters and friends of Courage to Care up to date with everything new and exciting happening in the organisation.

We will be posting events, articles, photos, exhibitions and more, and this is your opportunity to comment on the posts and give us your feedback!

It is also a great way for us to stay in touch with you, and further down the track it will also be the means by which students who attend the exhibition can submit their personal response projects.

As an interactive forum, we encourage you to subscribe and invite friends and fellow supporters of Courage to Care to also join!

With best wishes,

Debbie

Debbie Vadasz

Project Manager, Courage to Care

Phone: 9361 6035  Fax: 9331 3131

    debbie@couragetocare.com.au

The Courage to Care Annual Appeal and Musical High Tea took place on Sunday, 22^nd August 2010 at the B’nai B’rith Centre. It was a great success and much enjoyment was had by all across the afternoon.

As guests arrived, they were treated to the musical talents of Monsieur Camembert, a Gypsy/Klezmer band whose style of world music provided an air of celebration to the event.

The tables were elegantly decorated in High Tea fashion with 2 tier platters filled with biscuits and cut sandwiches as the centerpiece accompanied by a lovely floral arrangement.

MC for the afternoon was Tom Fleming who did a delightful job running the proceedings, and first to address the room of supporters was Andrew Havas OAM, Chairman of Courage to Care.

Following on from Andrew was guest speaker Sara Haghdoosti, who delivered an inspirational, highly personal speech about the motivation behind her activism. The 23 year old Iranian/Australian feminist currently works as a field organiser for GetUp! Australia, and is very supportive of the work Courage to Care does to encourage change and make a difference.

Renee Pinshaw was the final speaker and she gave an engaging account of her role as one of the facilitators in the Courage to Care program and why she volunteers. The formalities were concluded by Mimi Wise, who urged the audience to give generously to Courage to Care, and thanked them for their continuing support.

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