More than 150 people have already booked their seats for the Good Sams Foundation’s annual breakfast in Brisbane next month (April 20) with the Governor-General, Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce AC CVO.
A long-time supporter of the Foundation and currently its Patron in Chief, the Governor-General is the principal guest speaker at the breakfast which this year will focus on the Foundation’s work with women and children escaping domestic violence.
Also offering her support is Brisbane media personality, Loretta Ryan. The Radio 4BC presenter, who will be MC at the event, told The Good Oil she only heard about the work of the Good Sams Foundation recently through a friend but was keen to get involved.
“Being raised a Catholic, I have great respect and admiration for our religious nuns and when I learned about the work of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, I was somewhat surprised and embarrassed that I hadn’t heard about them before,” she said.
“I’ve been very lucky in my life that I haven’t been through the sad domestic situations faced by so many women. That is why I am supporting the Good Sams Foundation breakfast, to help get the word out there about its work, in the hope that more women and children can start living a happier life.”
While the primary aim of the breakfast is to raise vital funds for Foundation projects that support women and children, Foundation Business Manager, Sarah Fraser-O’Brien said the event will also be an opportunity to raise awareness about domestic violence in Australia.
“The statistics are sobering,” said Sarah.
“How can it be that in our supposedly developed nation one in three women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and one in four children will witness violence against their mother or stepmother?
“While the personal costs to women and children are obvious, the violence they experience also costs the community.”
According to a 2009 report published by the global accounting firm KPMG, violence against women and their children costs the Australian economy an estimated $13.6 billion annually. By 2021, this figure is expected to rise to $15.6 billion.
Sarah said 100 per cent of funds raised at the breakfast will be distributed to two Foundation projects that support women and children escaping domestic violence: the Transitional Housing Program in Brisbane and The Good Samaritan Inn in Melbourne.
Established in 1999, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Foundation (also known as the Good Sams Foundation) promotes and raises funds for outreach projects operated by the sisters and their partners throughout Australia and in Kiribati, the Philippines and Timor Leste.
Good Sams Foundation Annual Fundraising Breakfast with the Governor-General, Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce
Date: Friday April 20, 2012
Venue: The Brisbane Club, Adelaide Street, Brisbane
Time: 7:00 am until 9:30 am
Cost: Tickets are $60 per head or $600 for a table of ten
Event sponsors: Energex and Kelly Howard Recruitment
