AEIOU News

Baulderstone raises $13,000 for Townsville AEIOU Centre

Mon, 21 Nov 11

Media Release

November 2011

Baulderstone raises $13,000 for Townsville AEIOU Centre

A child’s life will change for the better this year, thanks to a generous donation from Baulderstone’s Enhanced Land Force (ELF) Project Team working on the Lavarack Barracks in Townsville.

The ELF Team today donated $13,111 to the AEIOU Foundation’s Townsville centre following almost 18 months of constant fundraising at site BBQs, raffles and their participation in the recent AEIOU fundraiser “Take a Hike”.

The much needed donation will close the funding gap AEIOU Foundation experiences for at least one child in AEIOU’s Townsville centre, which provides best practice early intervention for children with autism aged two and a half to five years.  

Baulderstone North Queensland General Manager Gary Butler said the ELF team had initiated the fundraising venture last year because one of the team had been personally affected by the cause.

 “Project manager Ben Prest has been privileged to see the good work of the AEIOU first hand through his sister Sarah and was touched by the amazing work they do for the Townsville community,” Mr Butler said.

“Our motto is “creating what matters” and we can see that AEIOU is also doing this in a social sense, so the idea to fundraise for this cause was a natural fit.”

“The size of today’s donation is a testament to Ben’s leadership and the EFT team’s commitment to supporting the community in which they work.”

Mr Prest and Townsville project manager Pat Donlan walked 40km and raised $5,136 and $1,825 respectively at the recent “Take a Hike Townsville” initiative and onsite fundraising activities at the Lavarack Barracks Baulderstone site raised $6,150. Mr Prest’s sister Sarah Prest is AEIOU Centre Manager for Townsville.

AEIOU Foundation Chief Executive Officer Alan Smith said the donation from Baulderstone was warmly welcomed and a morning tea was held at AEIOU’s Townsville centre to celebrate the occasion.

 “The program costs more than $40,000 per child per year to deliver, and after funding from the Government and parent fees, we have a funding deficit of around $10,000 per child every year. We rely on community and corporate support to raise vital funds   to close this gap and maintain the quality of our service,” Mr Smith said.

“We have 20 children enrolled in our program in Townsville, but we also provide care across Queensland, in regional and metropolitan areas, but we also have an extensive waiting list with families seeking access to the program.  We are committed to working with the community to raise funds that will help us keep parent fees down, and pave the way to ensuring all children with autism can access early intervention – it should be a right, not a privilege.”

 ”With inspiring individuals and organisations such as Baulderstone getting behind us and supporting what we do at AEIOU, we are on track,” Mr Smith said.

The Baulderstone Lavarack Barracks Enhanced Land Facility (ELF) project started in August 2009 and Stage 1 finished this year. The project includes the upgrade of base infrastructure civil works and support facilities at the Barracks including the refurbishment of the Medical and Physio centre. 

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Media contact:

Laura Daley, AEIOU Foundation: 07 3320 7555 or 0417 284 058, laura.daley@aeiou.org.au

Deborah Whiteoak, AEIOU Foundation: 07 3320 7520, deborah.whiteoak@aeiou.org.au