COVID-19 has seriously impacted our Foundation’s fundraising. But there is a breath of hope. We are finding more and more fundraisers are adapting and innovating to the social distancing and finding creative ways to fundraise for our Foundation.
This is a story of a small meditation group in Newcastle, an informal support group that has recently donated to our Foundation. “Sit In Sangha” is a non-denominational group of men and women with a shared desire to practice mindfulness meditation. Since 2013, the group of up to 15 members would meet each Monday evening in a hired room to mediate and share the benefits of a support group. With social distancing, they were forced to find an alternative, and like many, ZOOM became their platform to connect.
A member of the group, Sue Outram was surprised at the opportunity it afforded the group.
“We come together on ZOOM every Monday night for 90 minutes and it works for us. We do a 20 minute silent sitting meditation followed by a 10 minute silent walking meditation. Then the leader for the day, checks in with everyone sometimes asking a question about their experiences and challenges at this time. We then listen to a different podcast, or a reading and reflect on that. We’re getting pretty clever with technology now,” Sue laughs.
The other benefit is that group members no longer need to be in Newcastle to join in.
"We have a member now living in Melbourne, and another in Sydney, who are now able to join each week, and one of our ex-members even joined from London!” Sue tells us.
It also means that the money usually collected to cover room hire is no longer required. The group has a strong commitment to social justice and decided to share ideas on who to donate it to. Some of the group work in health and education and had heard about the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Sue said the Foundation was universally appealing because it is unique; working with small children and publishing books with their stories, in their own language.
“This gives our group a sense of pride and excitement,” says Sue. “I particularly liked that children were sharing these stories with their parents and grandparents!”
Sue, on behalf of the Foundation, please pass on our immense gratitude to your members.
If you would like to hold a fundraiser for the ILF, please get in contact with our Donor Engagement Officer Brad at brad@ilf.org.au
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation works as an initiative of the Australian Book Industry with the support of:
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Indigenous Literacy Foundation is registered with the ACNC and is a Public Benevolent Institution with DGR1 and TCC status.
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