Chairman’s Report
We’ve had another great year at Life!Central Services with multiple programs in full swing and also pleasingly many ongoing projects being completed. None of this would be possible without the hard work of our volunteers, staff and supporters over the last 12 months. Two of the major projects completed were the opening of our Stage 3 auditorium and the transition to new accounting software.
I’d especially like to thank Lauren O’Connor, Ryan Barnard, and Graeme Fedley who were key in accomplishing these projects and gave of themselves over and above expectation. The Suicide Safer Schools program, run through our DGR enterprise Life!Central Resources in partnership with ERMA and Suicide Safer Communities, is now well into its second year with the pilot program being implemented in 3 schools. Whilst this is exciting in itself, it is only the beginning of how we believe will change our community in the years to come. Our chaplaincy program provides an opportunity to engage with the community in a unique but extremely important way.
The hard work of the chaplains in working with the schools, teachers, students and their families is testament to the difference a chaplain can make as part of a school. This year Sheree Crone expanded her chaplaincy role and also worked with Scott Wellard, Director of Services, in program coordination. Sheree has proven to be a great asset to this program combining both her operations and chaplaincy skills in managing our team of 11 chaplains across the state. Looking forward to 2017 we expect to continue to expand our programs and services we offer to the community.
The state and federal government have yet to commit to ongoing funding of the chaplaincy program beyond 2017 so importantly we are endeavouring to utilise the current opportunities, establishing relationships and an understanding of how we can work with and serve our schools and broader community. To my fellow board members and our company secretary who have given tirelessly over the last year, I am extremely grateful for all your work which is largely unseen. Your commitment and passion for our community is inspirational and I am proud to serve alongside you as we build Life!Central Services.
