The VCAL students of Sacred Heart College are very excited to announce that the inaugural 2019 External Partnership Project award was presented to the Geelong Community Foundation with their CEO, Gail Rodgers collecting the certificate on the night of the Maguire celebration.

The GCF have had a long partnership with Sacred Heart and more recently, this relationship was extended to the VCAL students. As a result, the students have been able to connect with very important organisations in the Geelong region to fully appreciate the roles they play in assisting so many individuals in our region. This is done through both the Schools in Philanthropy program as well as Philanthropy 500. Philanthropy 500 is when individuals or small groups can come together to raise $500 to go to a larger pool of money that the GCF deliver as a part of Grant funding. In recent years, the GCF worked with Sacred Heart Students to devise a program that allows this worthy opportunity to be rolled out to other VCAL schools across Geelong and further increase the invaluable exposure of philanthropy to young people. Our students were very proud to have been an integral part of this process.

It does seem to be one of Geelong’s best kept secrets, which we are trying to overcome in our efforts to share their endeavours with as many Geelong people as possible. Last year they delivered over $1,000,000 to worthy organisations around Geelong so the amazing work of so many organisations like Lazarus Community Centre, Geelong Mums, the Sanctuary Counselling Centre, just to name a few who are supported in their work. To date over 280 organisations have been assisted with their projects and we are keen to continue our support by ensuring more and more people find out about this noble cause.

To be a part of the donors to the major Grants provided, individual or organisations can donate $10,000 or more and they will be continually informed as to what their money is achieving. Or they can donate $500 to Philanthropy 500 and be a part of the decision making process when it comes to deciding who will be the lucky recipient.

As members of the VCAL group, we continue to be very proud of our work with Geelong Community Foundation and the important work it does and will continue to support this and other important organisations around our community, and we ask that you do the same.

Janine Smith, VCAL Staff