2019 AFL Lunch Results

Another great day and another huge result for the Ruben Centre!
 
We are delighted to announce that our 2019 AFL Lunch raised over $670,000 - a record amount for one lunch - or any year and we are only half way through!
 
The MCC Members’ Dining Room was again full of our Members, Sponsors and other guests all there to hear Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell, his father Barry Mitchell, and Paralympics superstar Kurt Fearnley chat with legendary MC, Leon Wiegard.
 
We were enthralled by Kurt's interview with the Director (Br Frank O'Shea) and Programs Manager (Liz Mwangi) at Ruben. They discussed Ruben's importance to the local community, recent challenges including the loss of US Aid (affecting important initiatives such as the Food Program for the Primary School), and the impact of the weakening Australian Dollar on its funding capacity.

The 500 Supporters’ Group has made it our job to ensure the team at Ruben have the funding they need to continue their outstanding work. News of these challenges seemed to stir something in the room... and some amazing generosity! Donations have gone to a new level and so have Memberships - though, as Frank quipped, we can never have too many Members, so please sign up or renew if you haven't done so already*!

But how has the Group grown so much this last couple of years? In short, a number of our passionate Sponsors and Members have introduced us to some extremely generous foundations and larger donors who, like all of you, can see the huge impact on the families and children of the Mukuru Slum from every dollar invested at Ruben. These donors can see kids attending a wonderful school, integration of disabled children, a clinic serving thousands of families every week, and a wonderful new maternity clinic where over 700 babies were born in the first year, and they want to be part of it alongside the rest of us!