bongiorno in the community

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Transforming child health through research and discovery

The Bongiorno Group is proud to be partnered up with the Murdoch Children’s Research
Institute (MCRI) for our yearly client and team member birthday campaign.
MCRI is Australia’s largest, and one of the top three worldwide child health research
institutes for research quality and impact. Over 1,800+ researchers work across more than
150 rare diseases and conditions affecting children. Programs include, researching genomic
medicine, stem cell biology, infection, immunity and clinical sciences all with the aim of
giving more children the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled life.

If you would like to learn more about MCRI’s child health research, please visit mcri.edu.au

Children’s Cancer Institute – CEO Dare to Cure: October charity of the month

“Dare to Cure” is a charity that brings together business leaders to raise funds to help cure childhood cancer.

‘I was approached to participate in this fundraiser and asked to accept a challenge to either, share a bath with snakes, take an ice bath, walk on hot coals, eat bugs for breakfast, enter a fitness challenge or go for the big shave.

The “Dare to Cure” event took place whilst I was recently in Singapore so I was unable to participate this year, but felt it is such a worthy cause that I nominated them for our October salary sacrifice charity.

Their goal is to raise $1,750,000 this year and have raised $1,715,116 so far. I hope our October salary sacrifice contribution helps them get that little bit closer to achieving their goal. Who wants to join me in 2023?’.

For more information on how Dare to Cure can help in the community visit their website.

Margaret Mote (CEO)

Lifeline – ‘The Push-Up Challenge’: June charity of the month

‘In June 2022, 12 Bongiorno team members decided to put their push ups to the test. Completing 3,149 Push Ups over 24 days for Lifeline. Lifeline is a national charity that provides all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Each day, participants completed a set amount of push ups representing a significant mental health fact with our single biggest day being day 15, completing a massive 223 push ups.  223 representing the number of our First Nations people who committed suicide in 2020’.

Every 30 seconds, a person in Australia reaches out to Lifeline for help. For more information on how Lifeline can help in the community visit their website.

Ricky Caldow (Associate Director)

October Charity of the Month: FareShare Footsteps Challenge

During October, we reached out to FareShare, an organisation that operates Australia’s largest charity kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane. FareShare relies on donations of excess packaged and fresh food products from large corporations across the country. With a team of chefs and volunteers, they turn these into nutritious and tasty meals for people less fortunate. Meals are given away free to front line charities such as soup vans, homeless shelters and community food banks.

The Bongiorno Group loved FareShare’s story so much, we took part in their fundraising campaign – ‘FareShare Footsteps Challenge’ during October. Team members walked and ran in groups of four to raise money for this incredible cause, completing a total of 3,425km in 14 days and raising over $10,300 for the challenge!

For more information on their amazing work, or how you might be able to help, please visit FareShare’s website.

March charity of the month : Bodhi Tree Special School

“I have nominated Bodhi Tree Special School as our charity of choice for March. My sister Antoinette Bongiorno visited the Bodhi Tree School in one of the poorest regions in India in 2016. She saw first hand how this school was helping extremely poor children be given a chance for education. The school’s founder explained to my sister that although there were many disabled children in the area, unfortunately there was no school that would take them. You see, in India because of their belief in karma, they feel that if they have a child born with a disability that that is a shame on their family – how that translates is: if you are born disabled in India, especially from a poor, uneducated family, you are often a “non-person”. Fewer than 1% of disabled kids in Bogdahya get any education at all. In fact, many disabled children didn’t even get the basic human dignity of being given a name. They were often only referred to by the name of their disability.

I have two young children and couldn’t imagine this life for them, so I wanted to help keep this school stay open and Antoinette’s commitment to funding the ‘Bodhi Tree Special School’.

The school provides an education, food, medicine and therapy to disabled children. The school now has over 70 students (with many more being assessed for enrolment), with disabilities including Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, epilepsy and a variety of mental disabilities. Due to the schools amazing success there are presently another 70 disabled children who would love to go to the school but there is not enough funding. Your donations can help (Rotary have given the charity a DGR registration which means any donation is tax deductible)”.

For further information and to make a donation – Click Here

Julie Bongiorno (Director – ProLoan)