Lisa Field is the Fundraising Manager for the Werribee Hospital Foundation and she is very dedicated to her role. The foundation was formed during the transition from the old Werribee District Hospital to the new Werribee Mercy Hospital.
The Mercy is regarded as a generalist hospital that supports many services including surgical, medical, maternity, renal dialysis, emergency, mental health, rehabilitation and palliative care. The population growth of Wyndham is expected to double over the next 20 years - from 250,000 now to 500,000 in 2040. Therefore, the services and facilities within the hospital must keep pace with this growth. The hospital has a master plan to manage this but much of it is dependent on government funding. Therefore, it is imperative to have alternative sources of revenue such as the foundation.
The foundation has been instrumental in providing funds for many services. For example, it has donated $300,000 to the maternity ward, $100,000 to the emergency department and $400,000 to the critical care unit.
Lisa has been instrumental in developing various ways to raise awareness and funds. Some are traditional, others are new. Tin rattling is the very common method. She and her merry band of volunteers have spent many long hours visiting football games and other sporting events to rattle their tins. Other methods include giving a donation in memory of a lost loved one or making a bequest. Another concept is for people to volunteer as hospital hosts who invite their friends to a fund-raising function. Other people make home and hand-made items to sell and, recently, the foundation conducted a successful used book sale.
Lisa said she would love our club to get involved with the foundation by engaging in an existing fund-raising campaign or to come up with our own ideas.