The Churchill Trust was honoured to be invited to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Jack Brockhoff Foundation at Government House Melbourne in late February, along with 12 Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellows and representatives from the wide range of other Victorian charities and individuals the Foundation supports.
The late Sir Jack Brockhoff was Chairman and Managing Director of Brockhoff Biscuits Pty Ltd, a business established by his grandfather in 1880. Throughout his life, Sir Jack was keen to assist others in the community less fortunate than himself, and he established The Jack Brockhoff Foundation in 1979 to support the health and wellbeing of all Victorians.
The Jack Brockhoff Foundation has been generously sponsoring Churchill Fellowships annually since 1996, for research for the benefit of rural or regional areas in social disadvantage, including disability, or in health and medical practice. With more than one Fellowship often offered each year, to date there have coincidentally been a total of 40 Jack Brockhoff Foundation Fellows supported to gain new understandings abroad leading to positive social impacts on Australian communities.
Ben McMurtrie received The Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship in 2001, to investigate the current trends and advancements in orthotic management of paediatric cerebral palsy in the USA and Canada. He attended the 40th Anniversary event.
“This was a great chance to meet other Churchill Jack Brockhoff Fellowship recipients and members of the Jack Brockhoff Foundation. It’s always enlightening to hear about what the different Fellows did during their travels and most importantly what they have done with the knowledge after their return. I am certainly grateful for my Fellowship and continue to use things I learned as well as keep in touch with the contacts I made. Thank you so much Jack Brockhoff Foundation”, said Mr McMurtrie.
Geraldine McDonald, a more recent (2017) Jack Brockhoff Foundation Fellow, also joined the celebration. Geraldine travelled to the USA, Canada and the UK to determine the feasibility of implementing a volunteer model of patient navigators in cancer care.
“I want to thank the Jack Brockhoff Foundation for the lovely afternoon at Government House. It was a real privilege to attend. I particularly enjoyed meeting the many past Jack Brockhoff Churchill Fellows and hearing about the immense impact the Fellowship has had on their lives and others. I think it shows the purpose of the Fellowship has well and truly met Jack Brockhoff’s goals in establishing the Foundation”, said Ms McDonald.
The Chair of the Churchill Trust Board, Mr David Trebeck, travelled from Canberra for the event.
“It was a delightful function at Government House Melbourne to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Jack Brockhoff Foundation. For almost 25 years, the Foundation has been sponsoring, as part of its philanthropic work, Churchill Fellowships for worthy Victorians to conduct research to improve the health and well-being of their communities” said Mr Trebeck.
“The Fellowships were mentioned in the speeches of both the Foundation Chair, Robert Symons, and the Governor, Her Excellency, The Honourable Linda Dessa AC, (who of course is a Churchill Fellow herself, and former Chair of the Victorian Selection Committee and member of the National Board).”
“Of the 40 Fellowships awarded since 1996, it was heartening that twelve Fellows were able to attend, including current Victorian Selection Committee Chair, and National Board member, Jane Munro. For me, the event was also a chance to meet a number of the Fellows for the first time and learn more about their outstanding achievements, both during their Fellowship period and subsequently.”
“Two years ago, the Trust prepared a showcase booklet to acknowledge the work of a number of Jack Brockhoff Foundation Fellows, and we are looking forward later this year to celebrating a 25-year association between the Foundation and the Trust”, said Mr Trebeck.
In commemorating the Foundation’s 40th Anniversary, Churchill Trust CEO Adam Davey highlighted the value of the sponsorship and relationship.
“The strong alignment between the values of The Jack Brockhoff Foundation and The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust has underpinned a positive and sustained partnership for close to a quarter of a century. The Jack Brockhoff Foundation sponsored Churchill Fellowships have supported Victorians working in the area of social disadvantage to travel the world in search of best practice and new ideas to bring back for the benefit of their communities. We are proud of our relationship with The Jack Brockhoff Foundation and the associated community impact”, said Mr Davey.
Congratulations and thank you to The Jack Brockhoff Foundation!