News update - December 2014 Edition

JCI Eastern concluded our epic 2014 with a wonderful Hampers in Action project. To learn more about what we did in December, click here.

Announcing the 2015 JCI Australia National President

JCI Eastern is pleased to announce JCI Eastern member, Suzi Chen, as the incoming National President of JCI Australia.

Trained as a medical scientist and now works as a project manager for Country Fire Authority, Suzi has been involved with JCI since 2006 and has been an active JCI member with a strong passion in delivering community projects. In her speech at the October National Convention, Suzi explained the importance of building/re-introducing the relevance of JCI in what we do, a theme that Suzi wishes to foster for 2015.

We are excited to have Suzi leading us in 2015 and JCI Eastern sends our congratulations and the very best wishes to the 2015 National Board.

Stationery Drive is BACK!

Our super successful Stationery Drive in Aug/Sept this year saw JCI Eastern and Deakin Golden Key collected over 11,000 stationery items for donation. This overwhelming success means that we are back for more!

With the end of school term is just around the corner, why not consider donating your pre-loved stationery items to benefit Indigenous children in remote Australian communities?

Please contact us this November to arrange your donation.

We are the winner!

JCI Eastern won 3 awards at the JCI Australia National Convention in Sydney this October:

Best Local Community Empowerment Program

Hampers in Action 2013

Best Local Personal Skills Development Program
Art2Heart 2014

Most Outstanding New Local Member
Sam Gibb

We thank all our members and volunteers who have put in the hard work making our wonderful community initiatives possible.

Congratulations also go to the 2014 First Timer Scholarship recipient, Sam Gibb, from JCI Eastern!!! The First Timer Scholarship, an initiative by AJC Foundation, supported Sam's attendance at this year's National Convention.  

 

It is hamper time!

Followed our successful pilot project last year, JCI Eastern once again partners with UnitingCare, Burwood Centre this November to deliver another Hampers in Action program. JCI Eastern is committing to donate 30 hampers this year to assist local families at risk.

To show your support for this heart-warming community hamper program, please email us today.

Always feel very excited when reading our monthly newsletter! Share our excitement, click here for the latest update from JCI Eastern!

MEDIA RELEASE: OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FUELLED THE SUCCESSFUL STATIONERY DRIVE

Junior Chamber International (JCI) Eastern member, Suzi Chen, was surprised by the generosity of the local community in supporting the recent stationery drive. “We were approached by a university honour society to run a stationery drive initiative to help remote Australian communities. Our chapter members have always been very much about communities, so we all agreed that this initiative was a good idea. We just did not expect the overwhelming support that we received for this event,” Ms Chen said.
   

The 2-week Stationery Drive in late August was a joint initiative by both JCI Eastern and Deakin Golden Key, an honour society based in Deakin University. The Stationery Drive urged people to donate new and pre-loved stationery, which were then donated to Children’s Charity Network to assist disadvantaged Indigenous children in remote Australian towns with their learning.  

 

Deakin Golden Key Vice President and Community Services Officer, Sarah Neil, spent hours sorting the donated items after the initiative ended and reported an astonishing number of donations received. “10,966. That's the total of major stationery items raised from the drive. If I also counted smaller items, the number of donations would be higher! I was in shock by this unprecedented success,” Miss Neil commented.

 

“We had the support from local schools, communities and businesses. They will be so thrilled to learn about the success of this stationery drive. In fact, one local schools was so keen about this initiative that they have asked if we could run it again in November,” JCI Eastern Chapter President, Ben Morris, added.

To get involved with JCI Eastern, a local chapter of the world-wide JCI network, click here.