The partnership between Glory and Parkerville is a long-standing one.
So long, in fact, that the Children and Youth Care organisation’s CEO, Bas Hanna, isn’t entirely sure when it started!
“I was frightened you were going to ask me that!” he said. “I’m pretty sure it’s the tenth anniversary this year, but I’d have to check with Tony [Sage]. It’s definitely either ten or eleven!”
But while he might be a bit sketchy on the dates, Hanna is crystal clear on how crucial the partnership with Glory is.
“The most positive thing about our relationship with Glory is that the club has a high profile in this town and our name attached with them enables us to get out there and make people aware of who we are and what we do,” he explained.
“And you can’t put a dollar figure on that. It’s really important and we really appreciate Tony’s long-term commitment to our organisation. When I first went to Parkerville 14 years ago, people didn’t talk about child abuse. Newspapers didn’t print anything and people dug their heads in the sand. Now we’ve had this insidious shift and people are talking about it. It’s in the newspapers, it’s on TV and social media. It’s everywhere and people are becoming more aware of it. As people become more aware, more gets done and we can make more children safe.
2017 was a year of significant progress for Parkerville and Hanna is delighted with the direction that the organisation is moving in.
“There were two major highlights in 2017,” he said, “the first of which was the research that we finished in June on the current Child Advocacy Centre in Armadale, which cited that centre as international best practice. That was particularly significant given that it’s the first and only one in Australia and it’s been a battle to get government to recognise it as such. It was a major coup.
“The second highlight was securing the land at Midland, getting the plans together and then putting the project development application in for the build of the new, four-storey Child Advocacy Centre. That was very exciting and probably the biggest thing the organisation has ever done. It’s a $25 million-build and will be four times as big as our centre in Armadale, with a number of other services included which will be of huge benefit to the local community. It’ll be a place of safety that children and families can come to. Obviously these things take time, but we’re hoping to turn the sod in March and then it is scheduled to take 62 weeks, so opening in 2019.”
Despite the demands of his hugely-responsible day job, the lifelong Glory tragic and former President of the Shed Supporters Club still finds time to follow his club, even if he’s not exactly a good luck charm.
“The bad news is that, in all the years we’ve been doing them, we’ve never won a Parkerville game!” he said.
“I would normally speak at the Chairman’s Function, but this year I’m getting one of my marketing team to do it just to try and change the luck!
“I am on the Tour of Duty again this year. I used to really look forward to these with excitement, anticipation and fervour. But now I’m just thinking ‘ah, s**t, not Brisbane again!’
“But that’s more about Brisbane than the tour itself. All we ever seem to do at Brisbane is stand in the humid rain watching Glory lose!”
And finally, if you’re wondering how you can help Parkerville with their incredibly worthwhile and vital work, there are a number of ways to do so.
“I don’t like to spout on about giving money,” said Hanna. “Some people can afford to donate and others can’t, but there are lots of other ways to help.
“People come on board to give time to help as volunteers. As an example, we have the biggest corporate volunteer program of any not-for-profit in WA.
“We also have lots of individuals who give up their time to work for us pro bono, such as architects, lawyers, painters and plumbers which is so helpful.
“And if people can’t donate or volunteer, they can still visit the website – www.parkerville.org.au – to find out what we do and talk about it to their friends.
“That’s also a huge help.”
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