Perfect time to support Australians in need

With the financial year ending tomorrow, it’s the perfect time to make a difference in your community and to your tax return through donating.

By giving to our 2011 Winter Appeal you’ll not only support families and individuals who have fallen on hard times, but also maximise your tax return.

In Monday’s Australian Financial Review, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Executive Chairman of HSC and Co, put forward Mission Australia as one of seven charities worthy of an end-of-financial-year donation – namely due to our transparency and effectiveness.

Even a small tax-deductible gift – anything over $2 - can make a huge difference to Australians whose lives have spiralled out of control because of a series of unfortunate incidents and plain bad luck like a job loss, poor health, the death of a loved one or lack of a support network. Sadly, it’s an all too familiar story.

For example when Gracie’s dad, Paul, was made redundant the family fell behind in their rent and the settled life they knew spiralled out of control within weeks.

Gracie and her brother soon found themselves sleeping in the back seat of the family car, with just a plastic bag of clothes and toys to call her own.

We urgently need your help to provide families like Gracie’s with a roof over their heads and the support they need to make a new start.

Donate before 30 June - and your kind gift can also be claimed as a tax deduction this year.

*Names and images have been changed to protect the identities of our clients.

Make a difference to your community… and tax return

With the end of the financial year days away, many Australians are starting to think about the best way to maximise their yearly tax return.

By far one of the best ways to receive a tax deduction is by opening your heart and wallets to others and making a charitable donation.

Any donation you make over $2 to a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) such as Mission Australia is tax-deductible – and even a small gift can make a huge difference to someone like Sheree*.

Sheree had been beaten continuously by her husband for the past five years. One night he hit her so hard that she blacked out for a few minutes. But it wasn’t until her children were hospitalised due to his beatings that Sheree realised she had to get away from her husband for good for the sake of her young family.

While he slept one night, Sheree quietly put the children in the back of the car and fled to the care of Mission Australia.

Unfortunately, Sheree’s situation is all too common – she and her girls make up just one of many families we work with every day at Mission Australia. Your generous donation today will help hundreds of Australian women and children in similar desperate situations to find pathways away from poverty, violence and homelessness.

We urgently need your help to provide families like Sheree’s with a roof over their heads and the support they need to start a new life.

Donate before 30 June and your kind gift can also be claimed as a tax deduction this year.

*Names and images have been changed to protect the identities of our clients.

Celebrating 150 years: the 2008-09 Annual Review

Released today, the 2009 Mission Australia Annual Review details the key achievements of the organisation over the last financial year and celebrates its dynamic 150 year history. Much may have changed since 1859 but the purpose of Mission Australia remains the same - to transform the lives of Australians in need.

The review was also an opportunity to profile the very people who have kept Mission Australia in operation for so long: its supporters. Steven, Noel, Margaret and Colin share their stories, and a special message is included from Margaret McKay - the great granddaughter of Sydney City Mission founder Benjamin Short.

Highlights of the review
In 2008-09 Mission Australia:

• Transformed the lives of 311,261 Australians in need
• Increased company revenue to $308,570,336
• Increased fundraising by $3 million
• Grew our net assets by 2%
• Established Mission Australia Housing
• Established Mission Australia Early Learning Services

To view the 2009 Mission Australia Annual Review, please visit the dedicated website:  missionpromotion.com/annualreport-2009