WAIKATO BURN SUPPORT A. G. M. 1 MAY 2007
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Good
evening and welcome to the Waikato Burn Support Annual General Meeting.
I have been a part of this group now for over 11 years. I became aware of the
group after my son Luke was burnt. It was at this stage that I first met Trish
Ball through the hospital and it was Trish who told me about WBS and what they
were all about. As a result I became not only a member of the WBS group but the
following year I also became a committee member.
Back then in my earlier years, in committee, the Number 1 focus was to support the burn survivor and their family and make them aware that they are not alone. To this end we had hospital visits, home visits, re-entry programmes for Kindys, schools, work places and really anywhere where it was requested. These initial contacts were backed up by family days throughout the year and then an annual camp. All these were to help give the burn survivors' confidence to try new and old activities without the fear of being made fun of or being made to feel the odd one out.
Each year, there were new faces but the best thing about it all was the vast improvement we saw in the survivors' who had attended previously and how they had come to terms with the changes to their way of life. It was these miracles that have kept me going within our group and working to continue to fulfill this goal.
In recent years with the falling Community support, education is now our main direction. Colleen Caldwell has been our Education officer for 4 years now and she has successfully fulfilled her contract with both WBS and MOH She has met the ongoing changes and is presently increasing the target groups for our programme.
This year MOH have renewed the Education Officers contract with WBS for a further 3 years.
MOH has also provided us with funding which we have used to upgrade our education resources and supplies for the programme. Colleen has been instrumental in redesigning our promotional materials to better target different age groups.
We were successful in getting funding from WEL Energy which we have used for reinvesting in the bath thermometer that has been very well received in the schools programme.
Also we have received funding from Ohaupo - Ngahinapouri Lions Club which has enabled us to purchase a new vehicle for our Education Officer, which is presently being sign written.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations who have granted us funding to enable us to continue our support and education programmes for our bum survivors and their families
WBS is managed by volunteers, they give of their time and knowledge. In today's fast paced society it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the time and energy to do that little bit extra so to all who have supported us I would like to say 'thank you for your continuing support'.
It is however, with regret that I hereby give my resignation as President; due to family and work commitments, I am unable to continue. I am, however, still happy to stay on as a committee member and look forward to the coming year.
Julie Hooper
President
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