Pool Dream hits Milestone

7 September 2016

7 Sep 2016

Villa Maria Catholic Homes wanted to Make a Splash for our warm-water pool and the people that use it. And we are excited to say we are on our way to doing that.

The Make a Splash campaign has raised over $270,000 since it was launched earlier this year. That means we are more than halfway towards our target of $400,000 to transform the pool used every day by adults and children with a disability.

VMCH Acting CEO Michael Dillon said people’s generosity and support for the campaign has been heart-warming.

“Our warm-water pool is a place where people of all abilities can experience the joy and therapeutic benefits of water,” Mr Dillon said.

“We are so grateful to everyone who has made a donation. Their donations will help us transform the pool which is in need of major repairs and a facelift to make it a truly special place for the people we support.”

Several fundraising events have helped us achieve this outstanding total, including the Dinner & Art with Heart fundraising evening in July.

Many people have also responded to the co-campaign with the Progress Leader newspaper, which has generously highlighted the fundraising appeal with several stories in its newspaper.

The pool, located at St Paul’s College in Kew, is special because it is accessible to people of all abilities, thanks to the dedicated VMCH staff who run the water-therapy programs, and the special equipment like hoists that assist people with even the highest needs to get into the pool.

The sad truth is that a lot of these children and adults would miss out on the joy of water if they did not have this swimming pool.

Gateway Services Kew, a day activity service for adults with a disability, uses the pool daily for water therapy activities.

Gateway Services Kew manager Kath Hill said the pool was a wonderful resource.

“Some people spend a significant amount of time in wheelchairs, their movement is often minimal, when they get in the water the water assists them with movements they usually would not encounter, swaying, bending, even standing, the water relaxes that muscles and provides a wonderful experience for people,” she said.

“The pool is a wonderful resource, but sadly it has aged significantly over the past 10 years.

“To have an environment that is new and state-of-the-art would be beneficial to everyone, it is such an amazing experience for people and we want to make it even more special with the new development.”

St Paul's College swimming pool

VISION

Our dream is to transform our swimming pool from this (pictured above) into something vibrant, colourful and amazing like this architect’s impression.

The people we support are so excited about this campaign. You can view a video on our website about our swimming pool fundraising campaign. http://vmch.com.au/get-involved/fundraising/make-a-splash/

We still need more than $100,000 to make this vision a reality and your help can get us there. You can donate by calling 1800 036 377.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We here at VMCH respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we gather, and we would like to take a moment to honour the fact that we live on the lands of the oldest civilisation in the world. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.