A message from our CEO

Happy New Year everyone. I am sure you are looking forward to a brighter year for 2021. Whilst we managed to wade through the complexities of last year, we were still able to grow and develop in many ways. I am looking forward to seeing how some of our initiatives can further progress this
year.

Thankfully little held us back in 2020 and we again finished the year by providing a memorable Christmas for those in our care. I want to thank you all for the time you gave to the children, young people, adults, and families we care for. Christmas should be a time for celebration, and it makes such a difference when you are all so committed and willing to share your time on this special occasion. I look forward to hearing more positive stories from the holidays so please do not hesitate to share these around.
We were once again supported by many businesses and organisations in the lead up to Christmas, directly impacting our ability to provide gifts and food to those we care for. BIG W Hunter stores again stepped up and promoted our Christmas Appeal, supporting the donation of many toys, books,
clothing, and other items ready to go when they are needed throughout the year. Our partnership with BIG W is integral in facilitating valuable community support and we cannot thank them enough for their willingness to unite with us each Christmas.

Along with BIG W, many other businesses and groups hosted giving trees, rallied donations or held fundraisers to support us this Christmas. These included Creer Property Charlestown, Telstra Newcastle, Gair Legal, The Junction Public School, Wallsend Seventh-day Adventist Church, Maitland
Tennis Centre, Bentleys Newcastle, and the Tocal College Social Club. In addition, several individuals connected to Allambi supported us with donations or their time to help. Thank you to everyone for your contribution to what was a very successful Christmas for 2020.

One thing I enjoyed hearing and passing on to our Board of Directors last year were the stories of success that came from our programs. You all never fail to go above and beyond to help those we care for meet their goals, or even surpass them. You are all so good at looking outside the box and
creating new ways to support change, growth, and innovation. This is also evident in our programs that are not operational, where creative evolution is constant. There is so much good happening across our organisation and I look forward to sharing these in this newsletter moving forward.

I wish you all a less restrictive, healthy, and happy 2021 and look forward to continuing to work together to create hope and build positive futures throughout the year.

Best wishes,

Simon Walsh
CEO