When people ask me what the Barwon Health Foundation supports, I often say, everything. From birth through to death, and almost all the health milestones in between. We’re one charity, with one mission - to improve the health and wellbeing of our entire region.
Within that one mission, there are many, many different causes.
Sometimes it’s cancer services. Over many years we have been proud to support cancer care, including care delivered through the Andrew Love Cancer Centre. We fund new and innovative equipment, research and clinical trials that help our community receive the very best care, close to home.
Our work also supports Barwon Health’s trauma and emergency services - a cause that really resonates with the community as these areas are critical touchpoints for some. University Hospital Geelong is a very busy regional tertiary hospital supporting the community from across the Barwon South West Region. When a loved one has a medical emergency or serious injury it’s the Emergency Department that responds. We support the Emergency Department by funding additional, cutting edge, medical equipment.
Mental health is another area where giving local makes a difference. Over the years we have raised funds to enhance the programs we offer in the community and have also supported the improvement of facilities and equipment that is used by clients. We’ve helped fund programs for young people living with eating disorders, supported youth in crisis, and made sure compassionate care is delivered in our community, not just in big city hospitals.
Barwon Health provides care across all stages of life – and we are fortunate to have such a comprehensive service here in regional Victoria - the Barwon Health Foundation offers that important extra support which helps to enhance comfort, care, access and experience.
We’ve supported care of the elderly and particularly dementia care, bringing music, art, gardens and even virtual reality to the residents to bring joy and dignity. We’ve supported children’s rehabilitation services at the McKellar Centre - including a new therapy garden for children who have experienced a stroke or acquired brain injury.
And still, there’s more. Donations to the Barwon Health Foundation have supported cardiology, intensive care, renal dialysis, women’s health, diabetes, and Motor Neuron Disease. They’ve helped children and their families navigate palliative care, as well as outreach services for refugee health. The community generosity makes Barwon Health stronger.
Philanthropy plays a vital role in health care and sometimes it’s the smaller, quieter acts of generosity that are the most powerful.
A personal hygiene pack for someone experiencing homelessness who arrives in the Emergency Department with nothing. A night’s accommodation for a regional family who must stay in Geelong during weeks of radiation therapy. A free transport trip for a patient who has no other way of getting to their renal dialysis appointment. These gestures rarely make headlines – and are not huge is cost - but for the people who receive them, they mean everything.
That’s what I love most about our Foundation. We’re one charity, with one mission - but within it, there are endless opportunities to support. From cancer to dementia, from maternity to aged care, from trauma to research, it all happens here in Geelong.
And all happens is made possible because people choose to give to your local health charity.
So if there’s a part of health care that matters most to you, you don’t need to look far to make a difference. You can give locally. You can support locally. And you can know, with certainty, that your generosity will change lives - right here at home.
One charity. A hundred causes. All happening right here in Geelong - for our entire region.
Zoe Waters
Executive Director
Barwon Health Foundation
