The past few months have been a busy time for the Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) community. 

On April 5, the Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, Mr Hong Lim, officially opened the VMCH Multicultural Wellness Centre (MWC), located on the top floor of our Wantirna aged care residence.

The MWC is considered to be the first of its type in Australia and will cater primarily for the needs of older Chinese and Filipino people, who as they age, can often become isolated and lonely.  About 100 people, including VMCH Board Chair Bill Scales and local MP Nick Wakeling, attended the official opening and enjoyed traditional Chinese and Filipino entertainment provided by program attendees, followed by a light lunch.

One of the great things about being part of the greater Catholic family is the opportunity to join with similar organisations to better help those we support.

On April 6, His Grace Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, launched the VMCH/Cabrini Health Australia collaboration at an evening event held at the Catholic Leadership Centre.

There are great benefits to the people supported by both organisations occurring from this initiative.  Cabrini patients who require home care following acute discharge can be supported by VMCH’s Community Services, and people supported by VMCH who require timely admission to hospital can access this through Cabrini.  This is a real win-win arrangement!

To mark National Volunteer Week and thank the many VMCH volunteers for their support over the past year, a High Tea was held at the iconic Plaza Ballroom on Collins Street on Wednesday, May 11.

This was the first time a joint celebration between volunteers from the former Villa Maria and Catholic Homes has been held, and I am delighted that more than 200 volunteers attended.

Board Chair Bill Scales and I both thanked our volunteers for their ongoing commitment, as without their dedication and care VMCH would be much the poorer.

I would also like to thank the more than 200 VMCH supporters who turned out to support children and adults with disabilities in this year’s Dinner and Art with Heart (DAWH) fundraising event on Friday, June 3.

The event was held for the first time in the River Room at Crown Casino; the perfect backdrop for such a successful event. 

The theme of this years’ DAWH was ‘Make a Splash’, with the focus on raising funds to refurbish the warm-water pool at Kew, which is used for a range of therapeutic treatments.  In addition to the silent and live auctions, there was a wine ‘lucky dip’, including donations of wine from many VMCH staff members and supporters.  

I would like to make special mention of our three sponsors Reflex Technology Group, Russell Kennedy Lawyers and Cura Health Pharmacy, whose generous support helped make the night our biggest and best yet.  I am proud to announce this year’s event fundraising target of $40,000 was well exceeded at just over $60,000 – an incredible effort. 

If you would like to assist our ‘Make a Splash’ appeal, it is never too late to donate.  We still have a long way to go to reach our overall target of $400,000. Please call 1800 036 377to find out more.

Kind regards,

Greg Pullen

CEO