Waikato Burn Support Charitable Trust
AGM 26th April, 2006
President’s Report

Good evening and welcome to the Waikato Burn Support Annual General Meeting.

Waikato Burn Support has helped many families and individuals over the last 12 plus years.

Family Days & Camps: We have organized family days where we have shared many new experiences together and made new friends.  We have hosted annual burn camps for burn survivors and their families where there has been an opportunity to talk about how being a burn survivor has affected their lives and how they have coped with the often never ending treatments. These have given both survivors and supporters time to be themselves in a supportive and encouraging environment -rather like an extended family.

This has been our goal: to support and educate.  WBS has tried to continue these traditions but as everyone here today realises, time is a limited resource and very precious.  For this reason I would like to thank everyone for their ‘gift' of time and effort, given to support our group.

Farewells: It is with regret that we accept the resignations of:

Paul Evans-McLeod who has been with us for over 10 years and has served his time well, both as President and as a committee member, your commitment and support to the group has been very much appreciated, and of

Christine Wilson who has been our Hospital Liaison Officer from almost the beginning of the Waikato Burn Support, and to whom we are also so very grateful -we will miss you both heaps!

Education Programme: Colleen Caldwell, our Education Officer, has established herself well with our Education Programme within the schools, pre-schools and community groups within our region.

The Annual School Poster Competition continues to be very successful with many entries from all schools.

Contract Commitments: Colleen continues to exceed her contract commitments with very rewarding results.

The Message: Getting our message to the public and educating the young is our goal.

Expo: Colleen attended the ‘Staying Alive Expo’ that enabled her to pass on the message of Prevention and Safety using display boards and pamphlets that showed part of the programme carried out in the schools.

Thank you Colleen for your successes. The Ministry of Health have endorsed this and have agreed to fund a project to revamp our current resource materials.

Fundraising: We have had further success with our fund rising from Waikato Energy which will be used to purchase further resources for the education programme.

Whales: It is pleasing to that the Whale bath thermometers continue to be successful, particularly with their target audience; children. They carry the message of burn prevention right into the home, successfully reaching the parents and caregivers.

Auditor: Special thanks are due as well to Doug Hawkins, our accountant and auditor. Many thanks for your continuing support.

We are a small, dedicated team of volunteers who have given of our time and knowledge. I would like to thank the committee for their support and commitment, for helping out when requested, and in taking on the various tasks required to keep our group focused and effective.

Thank you all for your commitment and support over this last year. I look forward to the activities of the coming year.

Julie Hooper,
President.