The inaugural Steps for Homeless Youth raised $100,000, smashing its fundraising target
Melbourne put on a beautiful day for our Steps For Homeless Youth at Albert Park last Friday morning. Over 450 runners and walkers were put through their paces to see who would be first past the finishing line.
We have raised $100,000 to date, exceeding our target of $80,000. Our number one fundraisers on the day was Team Qualitas, who also had the top individual fundraiser in their midst – Amanda Lambert. Even though our official acknowledgements were handed out on the day, we are still receiving donations until COB Friday 3 June. The funds raised will go towards building homes for homeless youth through The Haven Project.
Please take our survey here and give us feedback on this inaugural event.
37 teams stepped up and competed over six different activities and distances. The runs were very competitive with the 20km relay (5km x 4) and the hard core individual 20km runners first out off the starting blocks. The 10km and 5km runs were also very popular, with some of the runners finishing their distances at a sprint.
The walks were definitely more of a networking opportunity. You could choose to walk between 5 km or 10km, with your dogs, your colleagues and your friends in the industry. All with a bit of sun block under the unexpected winter sunshine.
We wrapped up the morning with a lunch where we heard from our charity partners, The Lighthouse Foundation and Bridge Youth Services. Susan Barton AM, founder, The Lighthouse Foundation spoke about our latest project with them – Haven House South East Melbourne. This project is a refurbishment and extension of a home for the Young Women’s Freedom Project, run by The Lighthouse Foundation. This home is the first Australian safe refuge designed to meet the recovery needs of these young women and girls (including those under the age of 18). The builder is Hansen Yuncken, and the key funder is TEN Women.
We also heard from Melinda Lawley, CEO, Bridge Youth Service, who did the 5km walk with her team. They came up from Shepparton to talk about our project with them. Haven House Shepparton (The Nest) is a partnership between the Property Industry Foundation, the Women’s Property Initiatives and The Bridge Youth Services to build 3 x two-bedroom homes where young mums (up to 25 years old) can live independently with their child or children. Our key funders for this project at the moment are Danks Trust, ISPT, and the Mercy Foundation. They have been joined by Homes for Homes with Donnette Rushworth, Partnerships Manager, presenting the cheque to Tim Slattery, Chair Board of Advisors Victoria at the lunch.
A very big thank you to our sponsors Dalton Consulting Engineers (DCE) & Egans Asset Management Pty Ltd. We could not have done the event without these sponsors as well as our VIC Future Leaders Committee who helped run the day.
We would also like to thank all our volunteers and to all of you who participated for making this first time event a huge success.
