Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 10

Features
THE 24-HOUR
FUNDRAISING DAY
Twenty-four hours that changed Scotch
3.
1. SCHOOL CAPTAIN, NICK MARKS ; 2. ALFIE HOLUIGUE (YEAR 6);
SCHOOL BOYS ENJOYING A CASUAL CLOTHES DAY AS PART OF
AND MR BATTY HOLD UP THE CHEQUE. 9. ‘CALL CENTRE’ STAFF
1.
2.
8 Great
8 Great
Scot Scot
Number 156 – April 2019
We’ve seen it before at Scotch. It is
undeniable that a fundraising event of the
magnitude of the event that occurred on
Thursday 8 August can draw a community
together and achieve remarkable outcomes.
The day certainly seemed to prove that
it is sometimes worth diverting from the
core business of classes, sport, SACs and
whatnot to take a longer view of what a day
like 8 August means to Scotch.
This year, the Foundation President’s
Dinner was delighted to tag team with the
official launch of the 24-Hour Fundraising
Day, to endow in perpetuity a scholarship
in the name of our greatest Old Boy,
General Sir John Monash GCMG KCB
VD (SC 1877-1881).
The dinner which launched it all was
full to bursting. Guest speaker, Scotch
College’s Head of History, Dr Mark
Johnston, held the room spellbound with
his compelling and evocative insight into
Monash. He reaffirmed perceptions of
Monash as a man of character, resolve and
enterprise: a brilliant scholar, engineer
and tactician; the forever-fond Old Scotch
Collegian who dealt with equanimity and
grace any prejudice that may have come
his way; diplomat, skilled negotiator and
post-war national hero.
We also saw fascinating and rare
footage of George V arriving at Bertangles
to knight Monash on the battlefield,
and learned of the individual and heroic
stories of other notable Scotchies with
whom Monash served on the frontline. All
present were enthralled. For all the carnival
atmosphere tinged with a single-minded
focus that would follow in the next 24
hours, merit, achievement and enterprise
were the recurring themes of the night.
The memorial stone positioned near
Scotch’s own Monash Gates proclaims
Monash as ‘a man of rare genius’, and
Mark’s address certainly provided a
special gravitas and impetus as to why this
scholarship was such a worthwhile Scotch
undertaking.
The target was $750, 000 and we had
24 hours in which to raise it. And so it
proved to be another remarkable Scotch
day – a day when the Scotch Family
rallied to the call to raise an astonishing
$1,319,000 in the space of a mere day.
For those glued to their computer
screens: the $750,000 target was achieved
at 12.17pm; the next challenge was the $1
million mark (4.01pm); and then $1.25
million (attained with five minutes to go)!
Watching the total rise during the day
became a somewhat addictive pursuit
for those within sight of a screen and the
website. Donations were received from all
over the globe. It’s hard not to envisage Old
Boy and current London resident, Andrew
Cohen (’85) following the campaign
closely enough that he knew exactly when
to press the donation button to ensure
we achieved that final amount of $1.32
million!
More than 700 families came on board
in support of this cause. Many of our
donors appended messages explaining why
this project resonated so strongly with
them. The comments range from those
who paid tribute to Monash’s stature as a
‘wonderful human being’, or the merit of
the undertaking itself as a ‘great initiative’.