Very nice of our Guest Speaker this week, Liz de Rome from Taldumande to acknowledge the support our Club has made in recent years via various appliances and financial donations. Liz gave a most informative talk on their work with school age children displaced from their home for many reasons, where Taldumande try and provide accommodation where required as well as educational guidance and support. They receive no Government support, relying entirely on donations.
BBQ last Saturday down a bit on turnover and resultant profit, as was the case a fortnight ago. Have to wait until after the school holidays, which should see a return to better figures.
A number of events for your Diaries coming up include,
the social evening on the 26th of April at Bilgola, George’s Chateau.
The Pride of Workmanship Dinner, Monday, the 3rd of May at Northbridge Golf Club. Any ideas for Nominations would be appreciated. Tom has put a lot of work into this, so it would be appreciated if we all show our support.
Red Shield Appeal, Sunday the 30th of May.
Of course, we can’t forget our busy BBQ schedule, the 10th and 17th of April, plus the 1st,15th and 22nd of May
Last Meeting Monday: 29th March 2021 our speaker was Liz De Rome, from Taldumande Youth Services.
Liz gave us a very informative update on their activities. To recap, Taldumande is a not-for-profit organisation that supports vulnerable children and young people aged 12 to 21 years, and their families. Based in Northern Sydney and the Northern Beaches, they support young people from all across Sydney. On any given night Taldumande has 65 children and young people in residence. We operate three 24/7 and two semi-independent accommodation programs and also offer community housing programs that provide a streamlined pathway, from homelessness and family breakdown, to independence and stability. Taldumande also provides residential support to young people who are under the supervision of Juvenile Justice in our Young Offenders Intervention Program and they also focus on preserving and restoring families with young people 12 to 15 in our Family Preservation and Restoration. Operating for 45 years, they have 65 staff and 26 properties and need $500,000 per year (outside of the Government subsidy) to operate.
Liz walked us thru some amazing statistics. There are 18,000 homeless youths in NSW, and they have to turn away some due to lack of beds. There has been a 50% increase in Domestics violence and 100% increase in mental illness since the start of COVID19. The need for youth services is INCREASING.
They believe housing is the key to long term success. They have housing programs for various situations (i.e., with & without family). Education is also key, with skills acquisition required to “break the cycle”. They now have a garage which is used for cooking lessons & homework. A highly trained case worker, assigned to every youth, will help develop a plan to reach individual goals & support them with the plan.
Example of programs include the Beach Reach program which works with the Northern beaches police liaison officers on Saturday nights to ensure youths get home. This is a 10-week council pilot. Another key program is the Family Preservation and Restoration with a case worker helping with a family “crisis”. 88% of youths return to the home.
Liz finished with a BIG Thank You to the club for their support, especially Tree of Joy gifts, whitegoods purchased, the Linen drive and the generous yearly donation at the Giving night. They also get help from organisations like Oz harvest & Baker’s delight.
Thank you, Liz, for an extremely informative & enthusiastic session.
Mr Julian Leeser MP, Member for Berowra, New South Wales, Australia's Chamber House of Representatives, on 15th March 2021 made a speech in the House of Representatives on the organisation
We are delighted to invite you to our 2021 Gala Dinner to raise much needed funds for homeless and vulnerable children and young people.
Since COVID-19 began, Taldumande has had a major increase in demand. This has meant that a staggering 326 children and young people have been turned away since the beginning of the pandemic. This figure is more than double the turnaways from the previous year. This number will continue to rise without your help.
Please help us by purchasing a ticket or table for our Gala Dinner. The cost is $220 a ticket.
We will have many fantastic experiences up for auction and we are taking tax deductible pledges.
We are excited that our Patron, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, will be attending our Gala Dinner.
Mr Julian Leeser MP, Member for Berowra, New South Wales, Australia's Chamber House of Representatives, on 15th March 2021 made a speech in the House of Representatives on the organisation
