Legislative Council Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Matters of Interest Charitable and Not-for-Profit Organisations CHARITABLE AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS The Hon. J.S. LEE Legislative Council The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:27): I rise today to speak about three wonderful not-for-profit organisations, mainly Make-A-Wish, Variety and Opportunity International. It is a great privilege to be able to support many important organisations run by so many generous and wonderful volunteers in our community. The first organisation I would like to speak about is Make-A-Wish. Since 1985, Make-A-Wish Australia has granted over 7,000 wishes to children in Australia with life-threatening medical conditions. On 11 May 2013 I attended A Night at the Circus Gala Ball hosted by the Adelaide branch of Make-A-Wish Australia. It was great to see the Leader of the Opposition, Steven Marshall, and the member for Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson, and many business leaders across the industries supporting the event. International research has discovered that the granting of Make-A-Wish wishes have a significant impact on the physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of children with life-threatening medical conditions. This compelling research is evidence of just how powerful a wish can be and how a wish's energy and positivity can make a life-changing difference. Special thanks to Margaret Grocke, Joe Capozza and the Adelaide Make-A-Wish team for the incredible contribution they make each year. Last year, the 57 volunteer branches with 1,156 volunteers across Australia raised an incredible $1.83 million to help make wishes come true. This amazing achievement was the result of countless hours of hard work and hundreds of fundraising activities and events. The second charity organisation I will speak about today is Variety—the Children's Charity. Many honourable members will know that Variety is committed to empowering Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs to live, laugh and learn. By giving practical equipment, programs and experiences, Variety helps children in need to overcome whatever obstacles they face and live life to the fullest. The Variety Bash is South Australia's most successful fundraising event. Over 24 years, this event has raised an incredible $28.5 million. One of the Bash's participants is Car 222, the Precocious Penguins. The Penguins team consists of three beautiful ladies: Sue Pearce, Roz Chow and Maylene Loo. It was a great privilege to attend another fundraiser organised by Car 222 on Saturday 1 June. Car 222 has won the 2013 National Citation Award for excellence and commitment to Variety—the Children's Charity. These amazing women joined the Variety SA family in 2006. They have been involved now for seven years and have achieved a sensational fundraising effort of a combined total of over $1 million. Variety helps all children, both directly and through numerous other service providers. Absolutely anyone can apply for funds, from an individual to well-known organisations, such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service or Novita and major facilities like the Flinders Medical Centre and the Women's and Children's Hospital. The third organisation I will speak about is Opportunity International. With more than 40 years' experience working with the poor, Opportunity International uses a sustainable approach to solve the problem of poverty. The organisation offers a hand up rather than a handout. Families are empowered through community development programs and micro finance or micro loans as small as $100 to help them grow their own small business. These services mean that families no longer have to struggle to afford food, clean water, health care and an education for their children. It is estimated that approximately 2.5 billion people around the world live in poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2 a day. Opportunity International has a goal to train 1,000 young women as health facilitators in poor communities throughout India, empowering them to become change agents and leaders in illness prevention, nutrition and basic health treatment. On 26 May, I attended a share-a-plate fundraiser organised by the wonderful Susan Lee. Its aim is to raise money to help build healthier communities in India. Susan invited all her friends to bring a plate of food to share. About 100 dishes were presented that day. A donation of $165 will enable one woman to be trained as a community health facilitator. Each leader than goes on to train approximately 200 to 300 additional households. That means that one single donation can impact hundreds of families. Susan Lee set her goal to train 12 health leaders and she has exceeded that goal because she raised enough money to train 20 health leaders at her fundraiser. We are very honoured to have such beautiful and kind-hearted people in our community. Congratulations and thank you to all those unsung heroes.