Helping to make inclusion mainstream
We were delighted to welcome Inclusive Innovations Tasmania and Blind Cricket Tasmania to our office this week to hand over a $1000 donation from our Fundraising Friday program.
WLF Partner Paul Lyons was joined by Phillip ‘Sunny’ Drury, CEO of Inclusive Innovations Tasmania (IIT), Vaughn Bennison, Ambassador for Blind Cricket Tasmania and Ross Copping, Chair of IIT for a chat about the how the donation will assist.
IIT was established in Hobart in 2020, and WLF is very proud to have been working with them from the start.
“IIT’s vision to develop an inclusive culture across Tasmania, with a focus on creating solutions and recognising human capital is something that really resonates with us as a local firm” Paul explains.
“When the opportunity came along to work with Sunny and Ross on this new company I was immediately on board. Our team has been supporting them with governance, securing their ACNC registered charity status, working through tax requirements and general business reporting.”
Sunny says the support provided by Paul and the WLF team has been invaluable in getting this up and running.
“Having someone I trust looking after the financial side of things has meant I can focus my time on building, and running, the business rather than wading through finances” he says.
“To receive this donation was a wonderful surprise. We’ve received some generous grants, but this is actually our first corporate donation! And the fact that it has come from staff members putting in their own money each week is really moving.”
IIT is working across a range of areas including sporting programs, and Sunny says this donation will be a great contribution to their current campaign for Blind Cricket Tasmania (BCT).
“We launched BCT in February 2021, which is a state-wide program” says Sunny. “For some of our cricketers, it’s about playing the sport at a community level and the engagement that this brings.”
“But for a core group of our cricketers in BCT, this is a pathway opportunity to access high performance training and work towards state and national representation.”
“WLF’s donation will go towards costs such as players equipment, venue hire, coaching and travel costs.”
“I can’t thank Paul and the WLF team enough. To see a group of staff putting their hands into their pockets to help fund us to build inclusive innovations for other Tasmanians really makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
The WLF Fundraising Friday program has been running for many years across the whole of the firm, with staff contributing towards local not-for-profit organisations.
Inclusive Innovations Tasmania would welcome any additional donations to Blind Cricket Tasmania – donations can be made online Inclusive Innovations Tasmania.