THE Mary MacKillop Foundation’s Travelling Sisters Roadshow – Australian Disaster Recovery is heading for Queensland.
The roadshow involves two Josephite Sisters touring the country in a special van visiting hundreds of schools as well as town centres and areas affected by recent natural disasters.
Headed by Sr Julianne Murphy, who has extensive experience in education, the roadshow is helping raise money for grants of up to $10,000 to be distributed by the Mary MacKillop Foundation.
The foundation is offering the grants for small community-based projects dedicated to assisting those in need of a helping hand.
Sr Murphy said she expected to arrive in Brisbane from NSW around September 8, the date she and her tourvan were booked to travel to Cairns via the Sunlander.
She said the roadshow would travel back down the coast, visiting schools and cyclone and flood-affected communities along the way.
“Each school visited will learn about the Australian disasters, how people can help, and the role we all play in meeting needs around us,” Sr Murphy said.
“If we were to ask what Mary MacKillop would be doing if she were alive today, we know she would be helping rebuild communities and the lives of the victims affected by these disasters, in keeping with her philosophy to ‘never see a need without trying to do something about it’.”
Sr Murphy said just six months after Australia was hit with floods and cyclones, the Mary MacKillop Foundation was continuing the legacy of Australia’s first saint by giving up to 80 grants.
Mary MacKillop Foundation chief executive officer Sam Hardjono said the Travelling Sisters Roadshow – Australian Disaster Recovery was encouraging people to roll up their sleeves to help their communities and to donate money to the “small life-changing projects” that were involved in disaster recovery across Australia.
“Aussies are generous people, yet with the flood levy and multiple disasters to donate to, there will be many small community-based projects that are working even harder to meet the growing needs around them, without any financial assistance,” he said.
“The Mary MacKillop Foundation is continuing the legacy of Australia’s first saint in fostering this Aussie helping spirit by giving grants to small life-changing projects that will help them meet even more needs.”
Mr Hardjono said grants would not be based on the amount of donations received during the roadshow.
“Rather the foundation will meet its commitment to provide grants of up to $10,000 to 40 small life-changing projects as well as up to 40 equal grants to disaster recovery projects by the end of 2011, making available a total of 80 grants of up to $10,000 each,” he said.
“The effects of these disasters will be felt for a long time and we are providing funding that will see these projects through 2012.”
Mr Hardjono said every single dollar donated during the roadshow would go directly to small projects, with the Mary MacKillop Foundation covering the full cost of administering the grants so donations could go directly to meeting the greatest needs.
