A Message From Gerard
Gerard Menses
CEO
Welcome to another edition of Wishing Wire. I had the privilege of attending the Launceston
Ball recently and it was great to see such a well attended and enthusiastic function. There seems
renewed energy across the Branches as we are working together towards achieving our long
term goal of 2,000 wishes.
We have now come to the end of our Switch Off campaign for 2014. Switch Off had mixed success, with
a surge in participation and fundraising towards the end of the month, but with some technical challenges
which impacted our targets. We did achieve excellent results in cementing our ‘ownership’ of this campaign,
and although we were up against a number of similar campaigns, we were able to attract the lion’s share
of media attention and public awareness. This, along with some fantastic participant feedback, has given us
confidence in the future of the campaign. We’d love to hear your feedback on Switch Off to add to our review
for consideration next year – especially if you chose not to participate, we’d love to know why so we can get
you involved next year!
It is with some sadness that I inform you of the resignation of Kellie Johnson, our General Manager
of Marketing, Fundraising and Communications. Kellie has made a significant contribution to
Make-A-Wish, helping the organisation regain a firmer financial footing, identify a solid way forward and built
a sustainable fundraising base. Having made such a good contribution, Kellie now feels it is the right time to
take some time out and move onto another challenge. We wish her the best.
In the short term, the new Community Fundraising and Events manager, Ben Joske, will become part of the
Volunteer and Wish Services team, given the heavy involvement of volunteers with third party events. I’m sure
Ben will be a great help to you all in your fundraising endeavours.
Enjoy your new edition of Wishing Wire and keep up the hard work! ■
Volunteer Newsletter | Issue 2 2014
Page 2